Polypeptides having lipase activity and polynucleotides encoding same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having lipase activity and isolated polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods for producing and using the polypeptides.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/440,642, filed Apr. 5, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,268,589, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/294,047, filed Nov. 10, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,158,400, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/114,258, filed May 24, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,067,218, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/944,557, filed Nov. 11, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,955,830, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/687,696, filed Jan. 14, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,855,172, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/255,553, filed Oct. 21, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,662,602, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/643,338, filed Jan. 12, 2005, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having lipase activity and isolated polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods for producing and using the polypeptides.

2. Description of the Related Art

Triacylglycerol hydrolyzing enzymes are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis or formation of triglycerides. Triacylglycerol hydrolyzing enzymes are a versatile group of enzymes and often have more than one activity such as lipase, phospholipase, lysophospholipase, cholesterol esterase, cutinase, amidase, galactolipase, and other esterase type of activities. Which activity is the predominant activity will depend on the application of the enzyme and the conditions.

Triacylglycerol hydrolyzing enzymes belong to the IUBMB Enzyme Nomenclature 3.1.1. EC 3 refers to hydrolases, EC 3.1 refers to acting on ester bonds, and EC 3.1.1 refers to carboxylic ester hydrolases. Related enzymes are classified in EC 3.1.4, which refers to phosphoric diester hydrolases.

Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of a wide range of carboxy esters, e.g., triglycerides to release fatty acid. Esterases (EC 3.1.1.1) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of water-soluble carboxylic esters, including short-chain fatty acid triglycerides, to produce an alcohol and a carboxylic acid anion.

Some lipases also have phospholipase activity and/or galactolipase activity (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,505 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,346), and can also have sterol esterase activity. (3.1.1.13).

Phospholipases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of phospholipids which consist of a glycerol backbone with two fatty acids in the sn1 and sn2 positions, which is esterified with a phosphoric acid in the sn3 position. The phosphoric acid may, in turn, be esterified to an amino alcohol.

There are several types of phospholipases which catalyze the hydrolysis of the fatty acyl moieties. These phospholipases include phospholipase A₁ (EC 3.1.1.32), phospholipase A₂ (EC 3.1.1.4), and lysophospholipase (EC 3.1.1.5). Phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) and phospholipase D (EC 3.1.4.4) hydrolyze the phosphoric acid group from a phospholipid, but do not hydrolyze fatty acids like phospholipase A₁, phospholipase A₂ and phospholipase B.

Phospholipase A₁ (EC 3.1.1.32) catalyzes the deacylation of one fatty acyl group in the sn1 position from a diacylglycerophospholipid to produce lysophospholipid and fatty acid. Phospholipase A₂ (EC 3.1.1.4) catalyzes the deacylation of one fatty acyl group in the sn2 position from a diacylglycerophospholipid to produce lysophospholipid and fatty acid. Lysophospholipase (EC 3.1.1.5), also known as phospholipase B, catalyzes the hydrolysis of the fatty acyl group in a lysophospholipid. Phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to 1,2-diacylglycerol and choline phosphate. Phospholipase D (EC 3.1.4.4) catalyzes the hydrolysis of the terminal phosphate diester bond of phosphatidylcholine to produce choline and phosphatidic acid.

Galactolipases (EC 3.1.1.26) catalyze the hydrolysis of galactolipids by removing one or two fatty acids.

Sterol esterases (3.1.1.13) catalyze the hydrolysis of sterol esters to sterol and fatty acid.

Detergents formulated with lipolytic enzymes are known to have improved properties for removing fatty stains. For example, LIPOLASE™ (Novozymes A/S, Bagsvrd, Denmark), a microbial lipase obtained from the fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus (also called Humicola lanuginosa), has been introduced into many commercial brands of detergent. Lipases have also been used in degumming processes and baking.

El-Shahed et al., 1988, Egypt. J. Microbiol. 23: 537-547 and Mohawed et al., 1988, Egypt. J. Microbiol. 23: 357-372 disclose two Aspergillus fumigatus lipases. WO 03/12071 discloses a gene encoding a lipase from Aspergillus fumigatus.

Mayordomo et al., 2000, J. Agric. Chem. 48: 105-109 disclose the isolation, purification, and characterization of a cold-active lipase from Aspergillus nidulans.

Kundu et al., 1987, Journal of General Microbiology 133: 149-154, disclose the isolation and characterization of an extracellular lipase from the conidia of Neurospora crassa.

Lipases have many commercial uses but very few lipases that work under application conditions and can be produced with high yields by microbial fermentation have been identified. There is a need in the art for alternative lipases with improved properties.

It is an object of the present invention to provide polypeptides having lipase activity and polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having lipase activity selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence which has at least 60% identity with the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10;

(b) a polypeptide which is encoded by a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under at least medium stringency conditions with (i) the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, (ii) the cDNA sequence contained in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, or (iii) a complementary strand of (i) or (ii); and

(c) a variant comprising a conservative substitution, deletion, and/or insertion of one or more amino acids of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10.

The present invention also relates to isolated polynucleotides encoding polypeptides having lipase activity, selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence which has at least 60% identity with the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10;

(b) a polynucleotide having at least 60% identity with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; and

(c) a polynucleotide which hybridizes under at least medium stringency conditions with (i) the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, (ii) the cDNA sequence contained in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, or (iii) a complementary strand of (i) or (ii).

In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide is amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4, amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6, amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8, or amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 10. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 61 to 1686 of SEQ ID NO: 1, nucleotides 73 to 1764 of SEQ ID NO: 3, nucleotides 61 to 1922 of SEQ ID NO: 5, nucleotides 55 to 1602 of SEQ ID NO: 7, or nucleotides 64 to 1789 of SEQ ID NO: 9.

The present invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, recombinant expression vectors, and recombinant host cells comprising the polynucleotides.

The present invention also relates to methods for producing such a polypeptide having lipase activity comprising: (a) cultivating a recombinant host cell comprising a nucleic acid construct comprising a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide.

The present invention also relates to methods of using the polypeptides having lipase activity in detergents, degumming, and baking.

The present invention further relates to nucleic acid constructs comprising a gene encoding a protein, wherein the gene is operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal peptide comprising or consisting of nucleotides 1 to 60 of SEQ ID NO: 1, nucleotides 1 to 72 of SEQ ID NO: 3, nucleotides 1 to 60 of SEQ ID NO: 5, nucleotides 1 to 54 of SEQ ID NO: 7, or nucleotides 1 to 63 of SEQ ID NO: 9, wherein the gene is foreign to the nucleotide sequence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a restriction map of pJLin173.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the genomic DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence of an Aspergillus fumigatus lipase (lip1, SEQ ID NOs: 1 and 2, respectively).

FIG. 3 shows a restriction map of pAILo1.

FIG. 4 shows a restriction map of pBM121b.

FIG. 5 shows a restriction map of pBM120a.

FIG. 6 shows a restriction map of pJLin172.

FIG. 7 shows a restriction map of pSMO230.

FIGS. 8A and 8B shows the genomic DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence of a Fusarium graminearum NRRL 31084 lipase (SEQ ID NOs: 3 and 4, respectively).

FIG. 9 shows a restriction map of pEJG61.

FIG. 10 shows a restriction map of pSMO232.

FIG. 11 shows a restriction map of pJLin175.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show the genomic DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence of a Magnaporthe grisea lipase (SEQ ID NOs: 5 and 6, respectively).

FIG. 13 shows a restriction map of pCrAm140.

FIGS. 14A and 14B show the genomic DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence of a Magnaporthe grisea lipase (SEQ ID NOs: 7 and 8, respectively).

FIG. 15 shows a restriction map of pBM134b.

FIGS. 16A and 16B shows the genomic DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence of a Neurospora crassa FGSC 2489 lipase (SEQ ID NOs: 9 and 10, respectively).

DEFINITIONS

Lipase activity: The term “lipase activity” is defined herein as a triacylglycerol acylhydrolase activity (E.C. 3.1.1.3) which catalyzes the hydrolysis of a triacylglycerol to fatty acid(s). The substrate spectrum of lipases includes triglycerides, diglycerides, and monoglycerides, but for the purpose of the present invention, lipase activity is determined using p-nitrophenyl butyrate as substrate. One unit of lipase activity equals the amount of enzyme capable of releasing 1 μmole of butyric acid per minute at pH 7.5, 25° C. Encompassed within the term “lipase activity” are polypeptides that also have phopholipase activity, sterol ester esterase activity, and/or galactolipase activity, as defined herein.

The polypeptides of the present invention have at least 20%, preferably at least 40%, more preferably at least 50%, more preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, even more preferably at least 90%, most preferably at least 95%, and even most preferably at least 100% of the lipase activity of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10.

Phospholipase activity: The term “phospholipase activity” is defined herein as a phosphatidyl acylhydrolase (EC 3.1.1.4, EC 3.1.1.5, and EC 3.1.1.32) which catalyzes the hydrolysis of a fatty acid from a phospholipid. Phospholipids consist of a glycerol backbone with two fatty acids in the sn1 and sn2 positions, which is esterified with a phosphoric acid in the sn3 position. The phosphoric acid may, in turn, be esterified with an amino alcohol.

Phospholipase A₁ (EC 3.1.1.32) catalyzes the deacylation of one fatty acyl group in the sn1 position from a diacylglycerophospholipid to produce lysophospholipid and fatty acid.

Phospholipase A₂ (EC 3.1.1.4) catalyzes the deacylation of one fatty acyl group in the sn2 position from a diacylglycerophospholipid to produce lysophospholipid and fatty acid.

Lysophospholipase (EC 3.1.1.5), also known as phospholipase B, catalyzes the hydrolysis of the fatty acyl group in a lysophospholipid.

For purposes of the present invention, phospholipase A₁, phospholipase A₂, and lysophospholipase activity is determined according to WO 2005/040410 using phosphatidylcholines derived from soy (Avanti Polar Lipids Inc., AL, USA) or alkylated phosphatidylethanolamines as substrates.

Galactolipase activity: The term “galactolipase activity” is defined herein as a 1,2-diacyl-3-beta-D-galactosyl-sn-glycerol acylhydrolase (EC 3.1.1.26) which catalyzes the hydrolysis of galactolipids by removing one or two fatty acids. Galactolipase activity is determined according to WO 2005/040410 using digalactosyldiglyceride (DGDG) or monogalactosyldiglyceride (MGDG) extracted from wheat flour as substrate. DGDG is a galactolipid that consists of two fatty acids and a digalactose. MGDG is a galactolipid that consists of two fatty acids and a galactose.

Sterol esterase activity: The term “sterol esterase activity” is defined herein as sterol ester acylhydrolase (3.1.1.13) which catalyzes the hydrolysis of sterol esters to sterol and fatty acid, e.g., cholesterol ester to cholesterol and fatty acid. Sterol esterase activity is determined according to WO 05/040410 using cholesterol linoleate as a substrate.

Isolated polypeptide: The term “isolated polypeptide” as used herein refers to a polypeptide which is at least 20% pure, preferably at least 40% pure, more preferably at least 60% pure, even more preferably at least 80% pure, most preferably at least 90% pure, and even most preferably at least 95% pure, as determined by SDS-PAGE.

Substantially pure polypeptide: The term “substantially pure polypeptide” denotes herein a polypeptide preparation which contains at most 10%, preferably at most 8%, more preferably at most 6%, more preferably at most 5%, more preferably at most 4%, more preferably at most 3%, even more preferably at most 2%, most preferably at most 1%, and even most preferably at most 0.5% by weight of other polypeptide material with which it is natively associated. It is, therefore, preferred that the substantially pure polypeptide is at least 92% pure, preferably at least 94% pure, more preferably at least 95% pure, more preferably at least 96% pure, more preferably at least 96% pure, more preferably at least 97% pure, more preferably at least 98% pure, even more preferably at least 99%, most preferably at least 99.5% pure, and even most preferably 100% pure by weight of the total polypeptide material present in the preparation.

The polypeptides of the present invention are preferably in a substantially pure form. In particular, it is preferred that the polypeptides are in “essentially pure form”, i.e., that the polypeptide preparation is essentially free of other polypeptide material with which it is natively associated. This can be accomplished, for example, by preparing the polypeptide by means of well-known recombinant methods or by classical purification methods.

Herein, the term “substantially pure polypeptide” is synonymous with the terms “isolated polypeptide” and “polypeptide in isolated form.”

Mature polypeptide: The term “mature polypeptide” is defined herein as a polypeptide having lipase activity that is in its final form following translation and any post-translational modifications, such as N-terminal processing, C-terminal truncation, glycosylation, etc.

Identity: The relatedness between two amino acid sequences or between two nucleotide sequences is described by the parameter “identity”.

For purposes of the present invention, the degree of identity between two amino acid sequences is determined by the Clustal method (Higgins, 1989, CABIOS 5: 151-153) using the LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters are Ktuple=1, gap penalty=3, windows=5, and diagonals=5.

For purposes of the present invention, the degree of identity between two nucleotide sequences is determined by the Wilbur-Lipman method (Wilbur and Lipman, 1983, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 80: 726-730) using the LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters are Ktuple=3, gap penalty=3, and windows=20.

Homologous sequence: The term “homologous sequence” is defined herein as a predicted protein which gives an E value (or expectancy score) of less than 0.001 in a tfasty search (Pearson, W. R., 1999, in Bioinformatics Methods and Protocols, S. Misener and S. A. Krawetz, ed., pp. 185-219) with the Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (Accession No. 059952).

Polypeptide fragment: The term “polypeptide fragment” is defined herein as a polypeptide having one or more amino acids deleted from the amino and/or carboxyl terminus of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10; or a homologous sequence thereof; wherein the fragment has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a fragment contains at least 467 amino acid residues, more preferably at least 492 amino acid residues, and most preferably at least 517 amino acid residues of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a fragment contains at least 485 amino acid residues, more preferably at least 510 amino acid residues, and most preferably at least 535 amino acid residues of SEQ ID NO: 4 of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a fragment contains at least 500 amino acid residues, more preferably at least 525 amino acid residues, and most preferably at least 550 amino acid residues of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a fragment contains at least 440 amino acid residues, more preferably at least 465 amino acid residues, and most preferably at least 490 amino acid residues of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 8 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a fragment contains at least at least 460 amino acid residues, more preferably at least 485 amino acid residues, and most preferably at least 530 amino acid residues of SEQ ID NO: 10 or a homologous sequence thereof.

Subsequence: The term “subsequence” is defined herein as a nucleotide sequence having one or more nucleotides deleted from the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; or a homologous sequence thereof; wherein the subsequence encodes a polypeptide fragment having lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a subsequence contains at least 1401 nucleotides, more preferably at least 1476 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 1551 nucleotides of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a subsequence contains at least 1455 nucleotides, more preferably at least 1530 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 1605 nucleotides of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or a homologous sequence thereof. In a preferred aspect, a subsequence contains at least 1500 nucleotides, more preferably at least 1575 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 1650 nucleotides of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a subsequence contains at least 1320 nucleotides, more preferably at least 1395 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 1470 nucleotides of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 or a homologous sequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, a subsequence contains at least 1380 nucleotides, more preferably at least 1455 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 1590 nucleotides of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or a homologous sequence thereof.

Allelic variant: The term “allelic variant” denotes herein any of two or more alternative forms of a gene occupying the same chromosomal locus. Allelic variation arises naturally through mutation, and may result in polymorphism within populations. Gene mutations can be silent (no change in the encoded polypeptide) or may encode polypeptides having altered amino acid sequences. An allelic variant of a polypeptide is a polypeptide encoded by an allelic variant of a gene.

Isolated polynucleotide: The term “isolated polynucleotide” as used herein refers to a polynucleotide which is at least 20% pure, preferably at least 40% pure, more preferably at least 60% pure, even more preferably at least 80% pure, most preferably at least 90% pure, and even most preferably at least 95% pure, as determined by agarose electrophoresis.

Substantially pure polynucleotide: The term “substantially pure polynucleotide” as used herein refers to a polynucleotide preparation free of other extraneous or unwanted nucleotides and in a form suitable for use within genetically engineered protein production systems. Thus, a substantially pure polynucleotide contains at most 10%, preferably at most 8%, more preferably at most 6%, more preferably at most 5%, more preferably at most 4%, more preferably at most 3%, even more preferably at most 2%, most preferably at most 1%, and even most preferably at most 0.5% by weight of other polynucleotide material with which it is natively associated. A substantially pure polynucleotide may, however, include naturally occurring 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions, such as promoters and terminators. It is preferred that the substantially pure polynucleotide is at least 90% pure, preferably at least 92% pure, more preferably at least 94% pure, more preferably at least 95% pure, more preferably at least 96% pure, more preferably at least 97% pure, even more preferably at least 98% pure, most preferably at least 99%, and even most preferably at least 99.5% pure by weight. The polynucleotides of the present invention are preferably in a substantially pure form. In particular, it is preferred that the polynucleotides disclosed herein are in “essentially pure form”, i.e., that the polynucleotide preparation is essentially free of other polynucleotide material with which it is natively associated. Herein, the term “substantially pure polynucleotide” is synonymous with the terms “isolated polynucleotide” and “polynucleotide in isolated form.” The polynucleotides may be of genomic, cDNA, RNA, semisynthetic, synthetic origin, or any combinations thereof.

Mature polypeptide coding sequence: The term “mature polypeptide coding sequence” is defined herein as a nucleotide sequence that encodes a mature polypeptide having lipase activity.

cDNA: The term “cDNA” is defined herein as a DNA molecule which can be prepared by reverse transcription from a mature, spliced, mRNA molecule obtained from a eukaryotic cell. cDNA lacks intron sequences that are usually present in the corresponding genomic DNA. The initial, primary RNA transcript is a precursor to mRNA which is processed through a series of steps before appearing as mature spliced mRNA. These steps include the removal of intron sequences by a process called splicing. cDNA derived from mRNA lacks, therefore, any intron sequences.

Nucleic acid construct: The term “nucleic acid construct” as used herein refers to a nucleic acid molecule, either single- or double-stranded, which is isolated from a naturally occurring gene or which is modified to contain segments of nucleic acids in a manner that would not otherwise exist in nature. The term nucleic acid construct is synonymous with the term “expression cassette” when the nucleic acid construct contains the control sequences required for expression of a coding sequence of the present invention.

Control sequence: The term “control sequences” is defined herein to include all components, which are necessary or advantageous for the expression of a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention. Each control sequence may be native or foreign to the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide or native or foreign to each other. Such control sequences include, but are not limited to, a leader, polyadenylation sequence, propeptide sequence, promoter, signal peptide sequence, and transcription terminator. At a minimum, the control sequences include a promoter, and transcriptional and translational stop signals. The control sequences may be provided with linkers for the purpose of introducing specific restriction sites facilitating ligation of the control sequences with the coding region of the nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide.

Operably linked: The term “operably linked” denotes herein a configuration in which a control sequence is placed at an appropriate position relative to the coding sequence of the polynucleotide sequence such that the control sequence directs the expression of the coding sequence of a polypeptide.

Coding sequence: When used herein the term “coding sequence” means a nucleotide sequence, which directly specifies the amino acid sequence of its protein product. The boundaries of the coding sequence are generally determined by an open reading frame, which usually begins with the ATG start codon or alternative start codons such as GTG and TTG and ends with a stop codon such as TAA, TAG and TGA. The coding sequence may be a DNA, cDNA, or recombinant nucleotide sequence.

Expression: The term “expression” includes any step involved in the production of the polypeptide including, but not limited to, transcription, post-transcriptional modification, translation, post-translational modification, and secretion.

Expression vector: The term “expression vector” is defined herein as a linear or circular DNA molecule that comprises a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the invention, and which is operably linked to additional nucleotides that provide for its expression.

Host cell: The term “host cell”, as used herein, includes any cell type which is susceptible to transformation, transfection, transduction, and the like with a nucleic acid construct or expression vector comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention.

Modification: The term “modification” means herein any chemical modification of the polypeptide consisting of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10; or a homologous sequence thereof; as well as genetic manipulation of the DNA encoding such a polypeptide. The modification can be substitutions, deletions and/or insertions of one or more amino acids as well as replacements of one or more amino acid side chains.

Artificial variant: When used herein, the term “artificial variant” means a polypeptide having lipase activity produced by an organism expressing a modified nucleotide sequence of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; or a homologous sequence thereof. The modified nucleotide sequence is obtained through human intervention by modification of the nucleotide sequence disclosed in SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; or a homologous sequence thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Polypeptides Having Lipase Activity

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having an amino acid sequence which has a degree of identity to the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10, of at least 60%, preferably at least 65%, more preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, even more preferably at least 90%, most preferably at least 95%, and even most preferably at least 97%, 98%, or 99%, which have lipase activity (hereinafter “homologous polypeptides”). In a preferred aspect, the homologous polypeptides have an amino acid sequence which differs by ten amino acids, preferably by five amino acids, more preferably by four amino acids, even more preferably by three amino acids, most preferably by two amino acids, and even most preferably by one amino acid from the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10.

A polypeptide of the present invention preferably comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2.

A polypeptide of the present invention preferably comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4.

A polypeptide of the present invention preferably comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6.

A polypeptide of the present invention preferably comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 8. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8.

A polypeptide of the present invention preferably comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 10. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 10, or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide comprises amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 10. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 10 or an allelic variant thereof; or a fragment thereof that has lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, a polypeptide consists of amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 10.

In a second aspect, the present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having lipase activity which are encoded by polynucleotides which hybridize under very low stringency conditions, preferably low stringency conditions, more preferably medium stringency conditions, more preferably medium-high stringency conditions, even more preferably high stringency conditions, and most preferably very high stringency conditions with (i) the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, (ii) the cDNA sequence contained in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, (iii) a subsequence of (i) or (ii), or (iv) a complementary strand of (i), (ii), or (iii) (J. Sambrook, E. F. Fritsch, and T. Maniatis, 1989, Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2d edition, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.). A subsequence of the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9 contains at least 100 contiguous nucleotides or preferably at least 200 contiguous nucleotides. Moreover, the subsequence may encode a polypeptide fragment which has lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 61 to 1686 of SEQ ID NO: 1, nucleotides 73 to 1764 of SEQ ID NO: 3, nucleotides 61 to 1922 of SEQ ID NO: 5, nucleotides 55 to 1602 of SEQ ID NO: 7, or nucleotides 64 to 1789 of SEQ ID NO: 9.

The nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; or a subsequence thereof; as well as the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10; or a fragment thereof; may be used to design a nucleic acid probe to identify and clone DNA encoding polypeptides having lipase activity from strains of different genera or species according to methods well known in the art. In particular, such probes can be used for hybridization with the genomic or cDNA of the genus or species of interest, following standard Southern blotting procedures, in order to identify and isolate the corresponding gene therein. Such probes can be considerably shorter than the entire sequence, but should be at least 14, preferably at least 25, more preferably at least 35, and most preferably at least 70 nucleotides in length. It is, however, preferred that the nucleic acid probe is at least 100 nucleotides in length. For example, the nucleic acid probe may be at least 200 nucleotides, preferably at least 300 nucleotides, more preferably at least 400 nucleotides, or most preferably at least 500 nucleotides in length. Even longer probes may be used, e.g., nucleic acid probes which are at least 600 nucleotides, at least preferably at least 700 nucleotides, more preferably at least 800 nucleotides, or most preferably at least 900 nucleotides in length. Both DNA and RNA probes can be used. The probes are typically labeled for detecting the corresponding gene (for example, with ³²P, ³H, ³⁵S, biotin, or avidin). Such probes are encompassed by the present invention.

A genomic DNA or cDNA library prepared from such other organisms may, therefore, be screened for DNA which hybridizes with the probes described above and which encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. Genomic or other DNA from such other organisms may be separated by agarose or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, or other separation techniques. DNA from the libraries or the separated DNA may be transferred to and immobilized on nitrocellulose or other suitable carrier material. In order to identify a clone or DNA which is homologous with SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; or a subsequence thereof; the carrier material is used in a Southern blot.

For purposes of the present invention, hybridization indicates that the nucleotide sequence hybridizes to a labeled nucleic acid probe corresponding to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, the cDNA sequence contained in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9; its complementary strand; or a subsequence thereof; under very low to very high stringency conditions. Molecules to which the nucleic acid probe hybridizes under these conditions can be detected using X-ray film.

In a preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is nucleotides 61 to 1686 of SEQ ID NO: 1. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is a polynucleotide sequence which encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a subsequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is SEQ ID NO: 1. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the polynucleotide sequence contained in plasmid pJLin173 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30782, wherein the polynucleotide sequence thereof encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pJLin173 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30782.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is nucleotides 73 to 1764 of SEQ ID NO: 3. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is a polynucleotide sequence which encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4, or a subsequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is SEQ ID NO: 3. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the polynucleotide sequence contained in plasmid pSMO230 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30803, wherein the polynucleotide sequence thereof encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pSMO230 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30803.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is nucleotides 61 to 1922 of SEQ ID NO: 5. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is a polynucleotide sequence which encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6, or a subsequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is SEQ ID NO: 5. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the polynucleotide sequence contained in plasmid pJLin175 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30783, wherein the polynucleotide sequence thereof encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pJLin175 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30783.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is nucleotides 55 to 1602 of SEQ ID NO: 7. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is a polynucleotide sequence which encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a subsequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is SEQ ID NO: 7. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the polynucleotide sequence contained in plasmid pCrAm140 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30788, wherein the polynucleotide sequence thereof encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pCrAm140 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30788.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is nucleotides 64 to 1789 of SEQ ID NO: 9. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is a polynucleotide sequence which encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 10, or a subsequence thereof. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is SEQ ID NO: 9. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the polynucleotide sequence contained in plasmid pBM134b which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30786, wherein the polynucleotide sequence thereof encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. In another preferred aspect, the nucleic acid probe is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pBM134b which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30786.

For long probes of at least 100 nucleotides in length, very low to very high stringency conditions are defined as prehybridization and hybridization at 42° C. in 5×SSPE, 0.3% SDS, 200 μg/ml sheared and denatured salmon sperm DNA, and either 25% formamide for very low and low stringencies, 35% formamide for medium and medium-high stringencies, or 50% formamide for high and very high stringencies, following standard Southern blotting procedures for 12 to 24 hours optimally.

For long probes of at least 100 nucleotides in length, the carrier material is finally washed three times each for 15 minutes using 2×SSC, 0.2% SDS preferably at least at 45° C. (very low stringency), more preferably at least at 50° C. (low stringency), more preferably at least at 55° C. (medium stringency), more preferably at least at 60° C. (medium-high stringency), even more preferably at least at 65° C. (high stringency), and most preferably at least at 70° C. (very high stringency).

For short probes which are about 15 nucleotides to about 70 nucleotides in length, stringency conditions are defined as prehybridization, hybridization, and washing post-hybridization at about 5° C. to about 10° C. below the calculated T_(n), using the calculation according to Bolton and McCarthy (1962, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 48:1390) in 0.9 M NaCl, 0.09 M Tris-HCl pH 7.6, 6 mM EDTA, 0.5% NP-40, 1×Denhardt's solution, 1 mM sodium pyrophosphate, 1 mM sodium monobasic phosphate, 0.1 mM ATP, and 0.2 mg of yeast RNA per ml following standard Southern blotting procedures for 12 to 24 hours optimally.

For short probes which are about 15 nucleotides to about 70 nucleotides in length, the carrier material is washed once in 6×SCC plus 0.1% SDS for 15 minutes and twice each for 15 minutes using 6×SSC at 5° C. to 10° C. below the calculated T_(m).

In a third aspect, the present invention relates to artificial variants comprising a conservative substitution, deletion, and/or insertion of one or more amino acids of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10; or a homologous sequence thereof. Preferably, amino acid changes are of a minor nature, that is conservative amino acid substitutions or insertions that do not significantly affect the folding and/or activity of the protein; small deletions, typically of one to about 30 amino acids; small amino- or carboxyl-terminal extensions, such as an amino-terminal methionine residue; a small linker peptide of up to about 20-25 residues; or a small extension that facilitates purification by changing net charge or another function, such as a poly-histidine tract, an antigenic epitope or a binding domain.

Examples of conservative substitutions are within the group of basic amino acids (arginine, lysine and histidine), acidic amino acids (glutamic acid and aspartic acid), polar amino acids (glutamine and asparagine), hydrophobic amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine), aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine), and small amino acids (glycine, alanine, serine, threonine and methionine). Amino acid substitutions which do not generally alter specific activity are known in the art and are described, for example, by H. Neurath and R. L. Hill, 1979, In, The Proteins, Academic Press, New York. The most commonly occurring exchanges are Ala/Ser, Val/Ile, Asp/Glu, Thr/Ser, Ala/Gly, Ala/Thr, Ser/Asn, Ala/Val, Ser/Gly, Tyr/Phe, Ala/Pro, Lys/Arg, Asp/Asn, Leu/Ile, Leu/Val, Ala/Glu, and Asp/Gly.

In addition to the 20 standard amino acids, non-standard amino acids (such as 4-hydroxyproline, 6-N-methyl lysine, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, isovaline, and alpha-methyl serine) may be substituted for amino acid residues of a wild-type polypeptide. A limited number of non-conservative amino acids, amino acids that are not encoded by the genetic code, and unnatural amino acids may be substituted for amino acid residues. “Unnatural amino acids” have been modified after protein synthesis, and/or have a chemical structure in their side chain(s) different from that of the standard amino acids. Unnatural amino acids can be chemically synthesized, and preferably, are commercially available, and include pipecolic acid, thiazolidine carboxylic acid, dehydroproline, 3- and 4-methylproline, and 3,3-dimethylproline.

Alternatively, the amino acid changes are of such a nature that the physico-chemical properties of the polypeptides are altered. For example, amino acid changes may improve the thermal stability of the polypeptide, alter the substrate specificity, change the pH optimum, and the like.

Essential amino acids in the parent polypeptide can be identified according to procedures known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis or alanine-scanning mutagenesis (Cunningham and Wells, 1989, Science 244: 1081-1085). In the latter technique, single alanine mutations are introduced at every residue in the molecule, and the resultant mutant molecules are tested for biological activity (i.e., lipase activity) to identify amino acid residues that are critical to the activity of the molecule. See also, Hilton et al., 1996, J. Biol. Chem. 271: 4699-4708. The active site of the enzyme or other biological interaction can also be determined by physical analysis of structure, as determined by such techniques as nuclear magnetic resonance, crystallography, electron diffraction, or photoaffinity labeling, in conjunction with mutation of putative contact site amino acids. See, for example, de Vos et al., 1992, Science 255: 306-312; Smith et al., 1992, J. Mol. Biol. 224: 899-904; Wlodaver et al., 1992, FEBS Lett. 309: 59-64. The identities of essential amino acids can also be inferred from analysis of identities with polypeptides which are related to a polypeptide according to the invention.

Single or multiple amino acid substitutions can be made and tested using known methods of mutagenesis, recombination, and/or shuffling, followed by a relevant screening procedure, such as those disclosed by Reidhaar-Olson and Sauer, 1988, Science 241: 53-57; Bowie and Sauer, 1989, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86: 2152-2156; WO 95/17413; or WO 95/22625. Other methods that can be used include error-prone PCR, phage display (e.g., Lowman et al., 1991, Biochem. 30: 10832-10837; U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,409; WO 92/06204), and region-directed mutagenesis (Derbyshire et al., 1986, Gene 46: 145; Ner et al., 1988, DNA 7: 127).

Mutagenesis/shuffling methods can be combined with high-throughput, automated screening methods to detect activity of cloned, mutagenized polypeptides expressed by host cells (Ness et al., 1999, Nature Biotechnology 17: 893-896). Mutagenized DNA molecules that encode active polypeptides can be recovered from the host cells and rapidly sequenced using standard methods in the art. These methods allow the rapid determination of the importance of individual amino acid residues in a polypeptide of interest, and can be applied to polypeptides of unknown structure.

The total number of amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, such as amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2, is 10, preferably 9, more preferably 8, more preferably 7, more preferably at most 6, more preferably 5, more preferably 4, even more preferably 3, most preferably 2, and even most preferably 1.

The total number of amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4, such as amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4, is 10, preferably 9, more preferably 8, more preferably 7, more preferably at most 6, more preferably 5, more preferably 4, even more preferably 3, most preferably 2, and even most preferably 1.

The total number of amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6, such as amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6, is 10, preferably 9, more preferably 8, more preferably 7, more preferably at most 6, more preferably 5, more preferably 4, even more preferably 3, most preferably 2, and even most preferably 1.

The total number of amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 8, such as amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8, is 10, preferably 9, more preferably 8, more preferably 7, more preferably at most 6, more preferably 5, more preferably 4, even more preferably 3, most preferably 2, and even most preferably 1.

The total number of amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 10, such as amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 8, is 10, preferably 9, more preferably 8, more preferably 7, more preferably at most 6, more preferably 5, more preferably 4, even more preferably 3, most preferably 2, and even most preferably 1.

Sources of Polypeptides Having Lipase Activity

A polypeptide of the present invention may be obtained from microorganisms of any genus. For purposes of the present invention, the term “obtained from” as used herein in connection with a given source shall mean that the polypeptide encoded by a nucleotide sequence is produced by the source or by a strain in which the nucleotide sequence from the source has been inserted. In a preferred aspect, the polypeptide obtained from a given source is secreted extracellularly.

A polypeptide of the present invention may be a bacterial polypeptide. For example, the polypeptide may be a gram positive bacterial polypeptide such as a Bacillus polypeptide having lipase activity, e.g., a Bacillus alkalophilus, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus brevis, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus lautus, Bacillus lentus, Bacillus lichenifonnis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Bacillus subtilis, or Bacillus thuringiensis polypeptide having lipase activity; or a Streptomyces polypeptide having lipase activity, e.g., a Streptomyces lividans or Streptomyces murinus polypeptide having lipase activity; or a gram negative bacterial polypeptide having lipase activity, e.g., an E. coli or a Pseudomonas sp. polypeptide having lipase activity.

A polypeptide of the present invention may also be a fungal polypeptide, and more preferably a yeast polypeptide such as a Candida, Kluyveromyces, Pichia, Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, or Yarrowia polypeptide; or more preferably a filamentous fungal polypeptide such as an Acremonium, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Cryptococcus, Filibasidium, Fusarium, Humicola, Magnaporthe, Mucor, Myceliophthora, Neocallimastix, Neurospora, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Piromyces, Schizophyllum, Talaromyces, Thermoascus, Thielavia, Tolypocladium, or Trichoderma polypeptide having lipase activity.

In a preferred aspect, the polypeptide is a Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces diastaticus, Saccharomyces douglasii, Saccharomyces kluyveri, Saccharomyces norbensis, or Saccharomyces oviformis polypeptide having lipase activity.

In another preferred aspect, the polypeptide is an Aspergillus aculeatus, Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus foetidus, Aspergillus japonicus, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae, Fusarium bactridioides, Fusarium cerealis, Fusarium crookwellense, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium graminum, Fusarium heterosporum, Fusarium negundi, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium reticulatum, Fusarium roseum, Fusarium sambucinum, Fusarium sarcochroum, Fusarium sporotrichioides, Fusarium sulphureum, Fusarium torulosum, Fusarium trichothecioides, Fusarium venenatum, Humicola insolens, Humicola lanuginosa, Mucor miehei, Myceliophthora thermophila, Neurospora crassa, Penicillium purpurogenum, Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trichoderma reesei, or Trichoderma viride polypeptide having lipase activity.

In another preferred aspect, the polypeptide is a Thielavia achromatica, Thielavia albomyces, Thielavia albopilosa, Thielavia australeinsis, Thielavia fimeti, Thielavia microspora, Thielavia ovispora, Thielavia peruviana, Thielavia spededonium, Thielavia setosa, Thielavia subthermophila, Thielavia terrestris, Thielavia terricola, Thielavia thermophila, Thielavia variospora, or Thielavia wareingii polypeptide having lipase activity.

In a more preferred aspect, the polypeptide is an Aspergillus fumigatus polypeptide, e.g., the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, or the mature polypeptide thereof.

In another more preferred aspect, the polypeptide is a Fusarium graminearum polypeptide, and most preferably Fusarium graminearum NRRL 31084, e.g., the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4, or the mature polypeptide thereof.

In another more preferred aspect, the polypeptide is a Magnaporthe grisea polypeptide, and most preferably Magnaporthe grisea FGSC 8958 (Fungal Genetics Stock Center, Kansas City, Mo.) polypeptide, e.g., the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6 or SEQ ID NO: 8; or the mature polypeptide thereof.

In another more preferred aspect, the polypeptide is an Aspergillus nidulans polypeptide, and most preferably Aspergillus nidulans FGSC 2489 (Fungal Genetics Stock Center, Kansas City, Mo.) polypeptide, e.g., the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 10; or the mature polypeptide thereof.

It will be understood that for the aforementioned species the invention encompasses both the perfect and imperfect states, and other taxonomic equivalents, e.g., anamorphs, regardless of the species name by which they are known. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize the identity of appropriate equivalents.

Strains of these species are readily accessible to the public in a number of culture collections, such as the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen and Zellkulturen GmbH (DSM), Centraalbureau Voor Schimmelcultures (CBS), and Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center (NRRL).

Furthermore, such polypeptides may be identified and obtained from other sources including microorganisms isolated from nature (e.g., soil, composts, water, etc.) using the above-mentioned probes. Techniques for isolating microorganisms from natural habitats are well known in the art. The polynucleotide may then be obtained by similarly screening a genomic or cDNA library of such a microorganism. Once a polynucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide has been detected with the probe(s), the polynucleotide can be isolated or cloned by utilizing techniques which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art (see, e.g., Sambrook et al., 1989, supra).

Polypeptides of the present invention also include fused polypeptides or cleavable fusion polypeptides in which another polypeptide is fused at the N-terminus or the C-terminus of the polypeptide or fragment thereof. A fused polypeptide is produced by fusing a nucleotide sequence (or a portion thereof) encoding another polypeptide to a nucleotide sequence (or a portion thereof) of the present invention. Techniques for producing fusion polypeptides are known in the art, and include ligating the coding sequences encoding the polypeptides so that they are in frame and that expression of the fused polypeptide is under control of the same promoter(s) and terminator.

Polynucleotides

The present invention also relates to isolated polynucleotides having a nucleotide sequence which encode a polypeptide of the present invention.

In a preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the sequence contained in plasmid pJLin173 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30782. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region of SEQ ID NO: 1. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is nucleotides 61 to 1686 of SEQ ID NO: 1. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pJLin173 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30782. The present invention also encompasses nucleotide sequences which encode a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or the mature polypeptide thereof, which differ from SEQ ID NO: 1 or the mature polypeptide coding sequence thereof by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code. The present invention also relates to subsequences of SEQ ID NO: 1 which encode fragments of SEQ ID NO: 2 that have lipase activity.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the sequence contained in plasmid pSMO230 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30803. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region of SEQ ID NO: 3. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is nucleotides 73 to 1764 of SEQ ID NO: 3. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pSMO230 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30803. The present invention also encompasses nucleotide sequences which encode a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or the mature polypeptide thereof, which differ from SEQ ID NO: 3 or the mature polypeptide coding sequence thereof by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code. The present invention also relates to subsequences of SEQ ID NO: 3 which encode fragments of SEQ ID NO: 4 that have lipase activity.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the sequence contained in plasmid pJLin175 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30783. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region of SEQ ID NO: 5. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is nucleotides 61 to 1922 of SEQ ID NO: 5. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pJLin175 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30783. The present invention also encompasses nucleotide sequences which encode a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 or the mature polypeptide thereof, which differ from SEQ ID NO: 5 or the mature polypeptide coding sequence thereof by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code. The present invention also relates to subsequences of SEQ ID NO: 5 which encode fragments of SEQ ID NO: 6 that have lipase activity.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the sequence contained in plasmid pCrAm140 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30788. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region of SEQ ID NO: 7. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is nucleotides 55 to 1602 of SEQ ID NO: 7. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pCrAm140 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30788. The present invention also encompasses nucleotide sequences which encode a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 or the mature polypeptide thereof, which differ from SEQ ID NO: 7 or the mature polypeptide coding sequence thereof by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code. The present invention also relates to subsequences of SEQ ID NO: 7 which encode fragments of SEQ ID NO: 8 that have lipase activity.

In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the sequence contained in plasmid pBM134b which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30786. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region of SEQ ID NO: 9. In another preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is nucleotides 64 to 1789 of SEQ ID NO: 9. In another more preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is the mature polypeptide coding region contained in plasmid pBM134b which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30786. The present invention also encompasses nucleotide sequences which encode a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10 or the mature polypeptide thereof, which differ from SEQ ID NO: 9 or the mature polypeptide coding sequence thereof by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code. The present invention also relates to subsequences of SEQ ID NO: 9 which encode fragments of SEQ ID NO: 10 that have lipase activity.

The present invention also relates to mutant polunucleotides comprising at least one mutation in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, in which the mutant nucleotide sequence encodes the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide is amino acids 21 to 562 of SEQ ID NO: 2.

The present invention also relates to mutant polunucleotides comprising at least one mutation in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, in which the mutant nucleotide sequence encodes the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide is amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO: 4.

The present invention also relates to mutant polynucleotides comprising at least one mutation in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, in which the mutant nucleotide sequence encodes the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide is amino acids 21 to 598 of SEQ ID NO: 6.

The present invention also relates to mutant polynucleotides comprising at least one mutation in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, in which the mutant nucleotide sequence encodes the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 8. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide is amino acids 19 to 534 of SEQ ID NO: 8.

The present invention also relates to mutant polynucleotides comprising at least one mutation in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9, in which the mutant nucleotide sequence encodes the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 10. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide is amino acids 22 to 578 of SEQ ID NO: 10.

The techniques used to isolate or clone a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide are known in the art and include isolation from genomic DNA, preparation from cDNA, or a combination thereof. The cloning of the polynucleotides of the present invention from such genomic DNA can be effected, e.g., by using the well known polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antibody screening of expression libraries to detect cloned DNA fragments with shared structural features. See, e.g., Innis et al., 1990, PCR: A Guide to Methods and Application, Academic Press, New York. Other nucleic acid amplification procedures such as ligase chain reaction (LCR), ligated activated transcription (LAT) and nucleotide sequence-based amplification (NASBA) may be used. The polynucleotides may be cloned from a strain of Thielavia, or another or related organism and thus, for example, may be an allelic or species variant of the polypeptide encoding region of the nucleotide sequence.

The present invention also relates to polynucleotides having nucleotide sequences which have a degree of identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 of at least 60%, preferably at least 65%, more preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, and most preferably at least 97% identity, which encode an active polypeptide. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 61 to 1686 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

The present invention also relates to polynucleotides having nucleotide sequences which have a degree of identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 of at least 70%, preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, and most preferably at least 97% identity, which encode an active polypeptide. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 73 to 1764 of SEQ ID NO: 3.

The present invention also relates to polynucleotides having nucleotide sequences which have a degree of identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 of at least 70%, preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, and most preferably at least 97% identity, which encode an active polypeptide. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 61 to 1922 of SEQ ID NO: 5.

The present invention also relates to polynucleotides having nucleotide sequences which have a degree of identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 of at least 70%, preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, and most preferably at least 97% identity, which encode an active polypeptide. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 55 to 1602 of SEQ ID NO: 7.

The present invention also relates to polynucleotides having nucleotide sequences which have a degree of identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 of at least 70%, preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, and most preferably at least 97% identity, which encode an active polypeptide. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 64 to 1789 of SEQ ID NO: 9.

Modification of a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of the present invention may be necessary for the synthesis of polypeptides substantially similar to the polypeptide. The term “substantially similar” to the polypeptide refers to non-naturally occurring forms of the polypeptide. These polypeptides may differ in some engineered way from the polypeptide isolated from its native source, e.g., artificial variants that differ in specific activity, thermostability, pH optimum, or the like. The variant sequence may be constructed on the basis of the nucleotide sequence presented as the polypeptide encoding region of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, e.g., a subsequence thereof, and/or by introduction of nucleotide substitutions which do not give rise to another amino acid sequence of the polypeptide encoded by the nucleotide sequence, but which correspond to the codon usage of the host organism intended for production of the enzyme, or by introduction of nucleotide substitutions which may give rise to a different amino acid sequence. For a general description of nucleotide substitution, see, e.g., Ford et al., 1991, Protein Expression and Purification 2: 95-107.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such substitutions can be made outside the regions critical to the function of the molecule and still result in an active polypeptide. Amino acid residues essential to the activity of the polypeptide encoded by an isolated polynucleotide of the invention, and therefore preferably not subject to substitution, may be identified according to procedures known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis or alanine-scanning mutagenesis (see, e.g., Cunningham and Wells, 1989, Science 244: 1081-1085). In the latter technique, mutations are introduced at every positively charged residue in the molecule, and the resultant mutant molecules are tested for lipase activity to identify amino acid residues that are critical to the activity of the molecule. Sites of substrate-enzyme interaction can also be determined by analysis of the three-dimensional structure as determined by such techniques as nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, crystallography or photoaffinity labelling (see, e.g., de Vos et al., 1992, Science 255: 306-312; Smith et al., 1992, Journal of Molecular Biology 224: 899-904; Wlodaver et al., 1992, FEBS Letters 309: 59-64).

The present invention also relates to isolated polynucleotides encoding a polypeptide of the present invention, which hybridize under very low stringency conditions, preferably low stringency conditions, more preferably medium stringency conditions, more preferably medium-high stringency conditions, even more preferably high stringency conditions, and most preferably very high stringency conditions with (i) the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, (ii) the cDNA sequence contained in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, or (iii) a complementary strand of (i) or (ii); or allelic variants and subsequences thereof (Sambrook et al., 1989, supra), as defined herein. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 is nucleotides 61 to 1686. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 is nucleotides 73 to 1764. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 is nucleotides 61 to 1922. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 is nucleotides 55 to 1602. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 is nucleotides 64 to 1789.

The present invention also relates to isolated polynucleotides obtained by (a) hybridizing a population of DNA under very low, low, medium, medium-high, high, or very high stringency conditions with (i) the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, (ii) the cDNA sequence contained in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, or (iii) a complementary strand of (i) or (ii); and (b) isolating the hybridizing polynucleotide, which encodes a polypeptide having lipase activity. In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 is nucleotides 61 to 1686. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 is nucleotides 73 to 1764. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 is nucleotides 61 to 1922. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 is nucleotides 55 to 1602. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 is nucleotides 64 to 1789.

Nucleic Acid Constructs

The present invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs comprising an isolated polynucleotide of the present invention operably linked to one or more control sequences that direct the expression of the coding sequence in a suitable host cell under conditions compatible with the control sequences.

An isolated polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention may be manipulated in a variety of ways to provide for expression of the polypeptide. Manipulation of the polynucleotide's sequence prior to its insertion into a vector may be desirable or necessary depending on the expression vector. The techniques for modifying polynucleotide sequences utilizing recombinant DNA methods are well known in the art.

The control sequence may be an appropriate promoter sequence, a nucleotide sequence which is recognized by a host cell for expression of a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention. The promoter sequence contains transcriptional control sequences which mediate the expression of the polypeptide. The promoter may be any nucleotide sequence which shows transcriptional activity in the host cell of choice including mutant, truncated, and hybrid promoters, and may be obtained from genes encoding extracellular or intracellular polypeptides either homologous or heterologous to the host cell.

Examples of suitable promoters for directing the transcription of the nucleic acid constructs of the present invention, especially in a bacterial host cell, are the promoters obtained from the E. coli lac operon, Streptomyces coelicolor agarase gene (dagA), Bacillus subtilis levansucrase gene (sacB), Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase gene (amyL), Bacillus stearothermophilus maltogenic amylase gene (amyM), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase gene (amyQ), Bacillus licheniformis penicillinase gene (penP), Bacillus subtilis xylA and xylB genes, and prokaryotic beta-lactamase gene (VIIIa-Kamaroff et al., 1978, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 75: 3727-3731), as well as the tac promoter (DeBoer et al., 1983, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 80: 21-25). Further promoters are described in “Useful proteins from recombinant bacteria” in Scientific American, 1980, 242: 74-94; and in Sambrook et al., 1989, supra.

Examples of suitable promoters for directing the transcription of the nucleic acid constructs of the present invention in a filamentous fungal host cell are promoters obtained from the genes for Aspergillus oryzae TAKA amylase, Rhizomucor miehei aspartic proteinase, Aspergillus niger neutral alpha-amylase, Aspergillus niger acid stable alpha-amylase, Aspergillus niger or Aspergillus awamori glucoamylase (gIaA), Rhizomucor miehei lipase, Aspergillus oryzae alkaline protease, Aspergillus oryzae triose phosphate isomerase, Aspergillus nidulans acetamidase, Fusarium venenatum amyloglucosidase (WO 00/56900), Fusarium venenatum Daria (WO 00/56900), Fusarium venenatum Quinn (WO 00/56900), Fusarium oxysporum trypsin-like protease (WO 96/00787), Trichoderma reesei beta-glucosidase, Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I, Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase II, Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase I, Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase II, Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase III, Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase IV, Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase V, Trichoderma reesei xylanase I, Trichoderma reesei xylanase II, Trichoderma reesei beta-xylosidase, as well as the NA2-tpi promoter (a hybrid of the promoters from the genes for Aspergillus niger neutral alpha-amylase and Aspergillus oryzae triose phosphate isomerase); and mutant, truncated, and hybrid promoters thereof.

In a yeast host, useful promoters are obtained from the genes for Saccharomyces cerevisiae enolase (ENO-1), Saccharomyces cerevisiae galactokinase (GAL1), Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase/glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (ADH1, ADH2/GAP), Saccharomyces cerevisiae triose phosphate isomerase (TPI), Saccharomyces cerevisiae metallothionine (CUP1), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae 3-phosphoglycerate kinase. Other useful promoters for yeast host cells are described by Romanos et al., 1992, Yeast 8: 423-488.

The control sequence may also be a suitable transcription terminator sequence, a sequence recognized by a host cell to terminate transcription. The terminator sequence is operably linked to the 3′ terminus of the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide. Any terminator which is functional in the host cell of choice may be used in the present invention.

Preferred terminators for filamentous fungal host cells are obtained from the genes for Aspergillus oryzae TAKA amylase, Aspergillus niger glucoamylase, Aspergillus nidulans anthranilate synthase, Aspergillus niger alpha-glucosidase, and Fusarium oxysporum trypsin-like protease.

Preferred terminators for yeast host cells are obtained from the genes for Saccharomyces cerevisiae enolase, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cytochrome C(CYC1), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Other useful terminators for yeast host cells are described by Romanos et al., 1992, supra.

The control sequence may also be a suitable leader sequence, a nontranslated region of an mRNA which is important for translation by the host cell. The leader sequence is operably linked to the 5′ terminus of the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide. Any leader sequence that is functional in the host cell of choice may be used in the present invention.

Preferred leaders for filamentous fungal host cells are obtained from the genes for Aspergillus oryzae TAKA amylase and Aspergillus nidulans triose phosphate isomerase.

Suitable leaders for yeast host cells are obtained from the genes for Saccharomyces cerevisiae enolase (ENO-1), Saccharomyces cerevisiae 3-phosphoglycerate kinase, Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-factor, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase/glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (ADH2/GAP).

The control sequence may also be a polyadenylation sequence, a sequence operably linked to the 3′ terminus of the nucleotide sequence and which, when transcribed, is recognized by the host cell as a signal to add polyadenosine residues to transcribed mRNA. Any polyadenylation sequence which is functional in the host cell of choice may be used in the present invention.

Preferred polyadenylation sequences for filamentous fungal host cells are obtained from the genes for Aspergillus oryzae TAKA amylase, Aspergillus niger glucoamylase, Aspergillus nidulans anthranilate synthase, Fusarium oxysporum trypsin-like protease, and Aspergillus niger alpha-glucosidase.

Useful polyadenylation sequences for yeast host cells are described by Guo and Sherman, 1995, Molecular Cellular Biology 15: 5983-5990.

The control sequence may also be a signal peptide coding region that codes for an amino acid sequence linked to the amino terminus of a polypeptide and directs the encoded polypeptide into the cell's secretory pathway. The 5′ end of the coding sequence of the nucleotide sequence may inherently contain a signal peptide coding region naturally linked in translation reading frame with the segment of the coding region which encodes the secreted polypeptide. Alternatively, the 5′ end of the coding sequence may contain a signal peptide coding region which is foreign to the coding sequence. The foreign signal peptide coding region may be required where the coding sequence does not naturally contain a signal peptide coding region. Alternatively, the foreign signal peptide coding region may simply replace the natural signal peptide coding region in order to enhance secretion of the polypeptide. However, any signal peptide coding region which directs the expressed polypeptide into the secretory pathway of a host cell of choice, i.e., secreted into a culture medium, may be used in the present invention.

Effective signal peptide coding regions for bacterial host cells are the signal peptide coding regions obtained from the genes for Bacillus NCIB 11837 maltogenic amylase, Bacillus stearothermophilus alpha-amylase, Bacillus licheniformis subtilisin, Bacillus licheniformis beta-lactamase, Bacillus stearothermophilus neutral proteases (nprT, nprS, nprM), and Bacillus subtilis prsA. Further signal peptides are described by Simonen and Palva, 1993, Microbiological Reviews 57: 109-137.

Effective signal peptide coding regions for filamentous fungal host cells are the signal peptide coding regions obtained from the genes for Aspergillus oryzae TAKA amylase, Aspergillus niger neutral amylase, Aspergillus niger glucoamylase, Rhizomucor miehei aspartic proteinase, Humicola insolens cellulase, Humicola insolens endoglucanase V, and Humicola lanuginosa lipase.

In a preferred aspect, the signal peptide coding region is nucleotides 1 to 60 of SEQ ID NO: 1 which encode amino acids 1 to 20 of SEQ ID NO: 2.

In another preferred aspect, the signal peptide coding region is nucleotides 1 to 72 of SEQ ID NO: 3 which encode amino acids 1 to 24 of SEQ ID NO: 4.

In another preferred aspect, the signal peptide coding region is nucleotides 1 to 60 of SEQ ID NO: 5 which encode amino acids 1 to 20 of SEQ ID NO: 6.

In another preferred aspect, the signal peptide coding region is nucleotides 1 to 54 of SEQ ID NO: 7 which encode amino acids 1 to 18 of SEQ ID NO: 8.

In another preferred aspect, the signal peptide coding region is nucleotides 1 to 63 of SEQ ID NO: 9 which encode amino acids 1 to 21 of SEQ ID NO: 10.

Useful signal peptides for yeast host cells are obtained from the genes for Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-factor and Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase. Other useful signal peptide coding regions are described by Romanos et al., 1992, supra.

The control sequence may also be a propeptide coding region that codes for an amino acid sequence positioned at the amino terminus of a polypeptide. The resultant polypeptide is known as a proenzyme or propolypeptide (or a zymogen in some cases). A propolypeptide is generally inactive and can be converted to a mature active polypeptide by catalytic or autocatalytic cleavage of the propeptide from the propolypeptide. The propeptide coding region may be obtained from the genes for Bacillus subtilis alkaline protease (aprE), Bacillus subtilis neutral protease (nprT), Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-factor, Rhizomucor miehei aspartic proteinase, and Myceliophthora thermophila laccase (WO 95/33836).

Where both signal peptide and propeptide regions are present at the amino terminus of a polypeptide, the propeptide region is positioned next to the amino terminus of a polypeptide and the signal peptide region is positioned next to the amino terminus of the propeptide region.

It may also be desirable to add regulatory sequences which allow the regulation of the expression of the polypeptide relative to the growth of the host cell. Examples of regulatory systems are those which cause the expression of the gene to be turned on or off in response to a chemical or physical stimulus, including the presence of a regulatory compound. Regulatory systems in prokaryotic systems include the lac, tac, and trp operator systems. In yeast, the ADH2 system or GAL1 system may be used. In filamentous fungi, the TAKA alpha-amylase promoter, Aspergillus niger glucoamylase promoter, and Aspergillus oryzae glucoamylase promoter may be used as regulatory sequences. Other examples of regulatory sequences are those which allow for gene amplification. In eukaryotic systems, these include the dihydrofolate reductase gene which is amplified in the presence of methotrexate, and the metallothionein genes which are amplified with heavy metals. In these cases, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide would be operably linked with the regulatory sequence.

Expression Vectors

The present invention also relates to recombinant expression vectors comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention, a promoter, and transcriptional and translational stop signals. The various nucleic acids and control sequences described herein may be joined together to produce a recombinant expression vector which may include one or more convenient restriction sites to allow for insertion or substitution of the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide at such sites. Alternatively, a nucleotide sequence of the present invention may be expressed by inserting the nucleotide sequence or a nucleic acid construct comprising the sequence into an appropriate vector for expression. In creating the expression vector, the coding sequence is located in the vector so that the coding sequence is operably linked with the appropriate control sequences for expression.

The recombinant expression vector may be any vector (e.g., a plasmid or virus) which can be conveniently subjected to recombinant DNA procedures and can bring about expression of the nucleotide sequence. The choice of the vector will typically depend on the compatibility of the vector with the host cell into which the vector is to be introduced. The vectors may be linear or closed circular plasmids.

The vector may be an autonomously replicating vector, i.e., a vector which exists as an extrachromosomal entity, the replication of which is independent of chromosomal replication, e.g., a plasmid, an extrachromosomal element, a minichromosome, or an artificial chromosome. The vector may contain any means for assuring self-replication. Alternatively, the vector may be one which, when introduced into the host cell, is integrated into the genome and replicated together with the chromosome(s) into which it has been integrated. Furthermore, a single vector or plasmid or two or more vectors or plasmids which together contain the total DNA to be introduced into the genome of the host cell, or a transposon may be used.

The vectors of the present invention preferably contain one or more selectable markers which permit easy selection of transformed, transfected, transduced, or the like cells. A selectable marker is a gene the product of which provides for biocide or viral resistance, resistance to heavy metals, prototrophy to auxotrophs, and the like.

Examples of bacterial selectable markers are the dal genes from Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus licheniformis, or markers which confer antibiotic resistance such as ampicillin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, or tetracycline resistance. Suitable markers for yeast host cells are ADE2, HIS3, LEU2, LYS2, MET3, TRP1, and URA3. Selectable markers for use in a filamentous fungal host cell include, but are not limited to, amdS (acetamidase), argB (ornithine carbamoyltransferase), bar (phosphinothricin acetyltransferase), hph (hygromycin phosphotransferase), niaD (nitrate reductase), pyrG (orotidine-5′-phosphate decarboxylase), sC (sulfate adenyltransferase), and trpC (anthranilate synthase), as well as equivalents thereof. Preferred for use in an Aspergillus cell are the amdS and pyrG genes of Aspergillus nidulans or Aspergillus oryzae and the bar gene of Streptomyces hygroscopicus.

The vectors of the present invention preferably contain an element(s) that permits integration of the vector into the host cell's genome or autonomous replication of the vector in the cell independent of the genome.

For integration into the host cell genome, the vector may rely on the polynucleotide's sequence encoding the polypeptide or any other element of the vector for integration into the genome by homologous or nonhomologous recombination. Alternatively, the vector may contain additional nucleotide sequences for directing integration by homologous recombination into the genome of the host cell at a precise location(s) in the chromosome(s). To increase the likelihood of integration at a precise location, the integrational elements should preferably contain a sufficient number of nucleic acids, such as 100 to 10,000 base pairs, preferably 400 to 10,000 base pairs, and most preferably 800 to 10,000 base pairs, which have a high degree of identity with the corresponding target sequence to enhance the probability of homologous recombination. The integrational elements may be any sequence that is homologous with the target sequence in the genome of the host cell. Furthermore, the integrational elements may be non-encoding or encoding nucleotide sequences. On the other hand, the vector may be integrated into the genome of the host cell by non-homologous recombination.

For autonomous replication, the vector may further comprise an origin of replication enabling the vector to replicate autonomously in the host cell in question. The origin of replication may be any plasmid replicator mediating autonomous replication which functions in a cell. The term “origin of replication” or “plasmid replicator” is defined herein as a nucleotide sequence that enables a plasmid or vector to replicate in vivo.

Examples of bacterial origins of replication are the origins of replication of plasmids pBR322, pUC19, pACYC177, and pACYC184 permitting replication in E. coli, and pUB110, pE194, pTA1060, and pAMβ1 permitting replication in Bacillus.

Examples of origins of replication for use in a yeast host cell are the 2 micron origin of replication, ARS1, ARS4, the combination of ARS1 and CEN3, and the combination of ARS4 and CEN6.

Examples of origins of replication useful in a filamentous fungal cell are AMA1 and ANS1 (Gems et al., 1991, Gene 98: 61-67; Cullen et al., 1987, Nucleic Acids Research 15: 9163-9175; WO 00/24883). Isolation of the AMA1 gene and construction of plasmids or vectors comprising the gene can be accomplished according to the methods disclosed in WO 00/24883.

More than one copy of a polynucleotide of the present invention may be inserted into the host cell to increase production of the gene product. An increase in the copy number of the polynucleotide can be obtained by integrating at least one additional copy of the sequence into the host cell genome or by including an amplifiable selectable marker gene with the polynucleotide where cells containing amplified copies of the selectable marker gene, and thereby additional copies of the polynucleotide, can be selected for by cultivating the cells in the presence of the appropriate selectable agent.

The procedures used to ligate the elements described above to construct the recombinant expression vectors of the present invention are well known to one skilled in the art (see, e.g., Sambrook et al., 1989, supra).

Host Cells

The present invention also relates to recombinant host cells, comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention, which are advantageously used in the recombinant production of the polypeptides. A vector comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention is introduced into a host cell so that the vector is maintained as a chromosomal integrant or as a self-replicating extra-chromosomal vector as described earlier. The term “host cell” encompasses any progeny of a parent cell that is not identical to the parent cell due to mutations that occur during replication. The choice of a host cell will to a large extent depend upon the gene encoding the polypeptide and its source.

The host cell may be a unicellular microorganism, e.g., a prokaryote, or a non-unicellular microorganism, e.g., a eukaryote.

Useful unicellular microorganisms are bacterial cells such as gram positive bacteria including, but not limited to, a Bacillus cell, e.g., Bacillus alkalophilus, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus brevis, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus clausii, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus lautus, Bacillus lentus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus thuringiensis; or a Streptomyces cell, e.g., Streptomyces lividans and Streptomyces murinus, or gram negative bacteria such as E. coli and Pseudomonas sp. In a preferred aspect, the bacterial host cell is a Bacillus lentus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus stearothermophilus, or Bacillus subtilis cell. In another preferred aspect, the Bacillus cell is an alkalophilic Bacillus.

The introduction of a vector into a bacterial host cell may, for instance, be effected by protoplast transformation (see, e.g., Chang and Cohen, 1979, Molecular General Genetics 168: 111-115), using competent cells (see, e.g., Young and Spizizen, 1961, Journal of Bacteriology 81: 823-829, or Dubnau and Davidoff-Abelson, 1971, Journal of Molecular Biology 56: 209-221), electroporation (see, e.g., Shigekawa and Dower, 1988, Biotechniques 6: 742-751), or conjugation (see, e.g., Koehler and Thorne, 1987, Journal of Bacteriology 169: 5771-5278).

The host cell may also be a eukaryote, such as a mammalian, insect, plant, or fungal cell.

In a preferred aspect, the host cell is a fungal cell. “Fungi” as used herein includes the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Zygomycota (as defined by Hawksworth et al., In, Ainsworth and Bisby's Dictionary of The Fungi, 8th edition, 1995, CAB International, University Press, Cambridge, UK) as well as the Oomycota (as cited in Hawksworth et al., 1995, supra, page 171) and all mitosporic fungi (Hawksworth et al., 1995, supra).

In a more preferred aspect, the fungal host cell is a yeast cell. “Yeast” as used herein includes ascosporogenous yeast (Endomycetales), basidiosporogenous yeast, and yeast belonging to the Fungi Imperfecti (Blastomycetes). Since the classification of yeast may change in the future, for the purposes of this invention, yeast shall be defined as described in Biology and Activities of Yeast (Skinner, F. A., Passmore, S. M., and Davenport, R. R., eds, Soc. App. Bacteriol. Symposium Series No. 9, 1980).

In an even more preferred aspect, the yeast host cell is a Candida, Hansenula, Kluyveromyces, Pichia, Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, or Yarrowia cell.

In a most preferred aspect, the yeast host cell is a Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces diastaticus, Saccharomyces douglasii, Saccharomyces kluyveri, Saccharomyces norbensis, or Saccharomyces oviformis cell. In another most preferred aspect, the yeast host cell is a Kluyveromyces lactis cell. In another most preferred aspect, the yeast host cell is a Yarrowia lipolytica cell.

In another more preferred aspect, the fungal host cell is a filamentous fungal cell. “Filamentous fungi” include all filamentous forms of the subdivision Eumycota and Oomycota (as defined by Hawksworth et al., 1995, supra). The filamentous fungi are generally characterized by a mycelial wall composed of chitin, cellulose, glucan, chitosan, mannan, and other complex polysaccharides. Vegetative growth is by hyphal elongation and carbon catabolism is obligately aerobic. In contrast, vegetative growth by yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae is by budding of a unicellular thallus and carbon catabolism may be fermentative.

In an even more preferred aspect, the filamentous fungal host cell is an Acremonium, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Bjerkandera, Ceriporiopsis, Coprinus, Coriolus, Cryptococcus, Filibasidium, Fusarium, Humicola, Magnaporthe, Mucor, Myceliophthora, Neocallimastix, Neurospora, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Phanerochaete, Phlebia, Piromyces, Pleurotus, Schizophyllum, Talaromyces, Thermoascus, Thielavia, Tolypocladium, Trametes, or Trichoderma cell.

In a most preferred aspect, the filamentous fungal host cell is an Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus foetidus, Aspergillus japonicus, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger or Aspergillus oryzae cell. In another most preferred aspect, the filamentous fungal host cell is a Fusarium bactridioides, Fusarium cerealis, Fusarium crookwellense, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium graminum, Fusarium heterosporum, Fusarium negundi, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium reticulatum, Fusarium roseum, Fusarium sambucinum, Fusarium sarcochroum, Fusarium sporotrichioides, Fusarium sulphureum, Fusarium torulosum, Fusarium trichothecioides, or Fusarium venenatum cell. In another most preferred aspect, the filamentous fungal host cell is a Bjerkandera adusta, Ceriporiopsis aneirina, Ceriporiopsis aneirina, Ceriporiopsis caregiea, Ceriporiopsis gilvescens, Ceriporiopsis pannocinta, Ceriporiopsis rivulosa, Ceriporiopsis subrufa, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, Coprinus cinereus, Coriolus hirsutus, Humicola insolens, Humicola lanuginosa, Mucor miehei, Myceliophthora thermophila, Neurospora crassa, Penicillium purpurogenum, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Phlebia radiata, Pleurotus eryngii, Thielavia terrestris, Trametes villosa, Trametes versicolor, Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trichoderma reesei, or Trichoderma viride cell.

Fungal cells may be transformed by a process involving protoplast formation, transformation of the protoplasts, and regeneration of the cell wall in a manner known per se. Suitable procedures for transformation of Aspergillus and Trichoderma host cells are described in EP 238 023 and Yelton et al., 1984, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 81: 1470-1474. Suitable methods for transforming Fusarium species are described by Malardier et al., 1989, Gene 78: 147-156, and WO 96/00787. Yeast may be transformed using the procedures described by Becker and Guarente, In Abelson, J. N. and Simon, M. I., editors, Guide to Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology, Methods in Enzymology, Volume 194, pp 182-187, Academic Press, Inc., New York; Ito et al., 1983, Journal of Bacteriology 153: 163; and Hinnen et al., 1978, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 75: 1920.

Methods of Production

The present invention also relates to methods for producing a polypeptide of the present invention, comprising: (a) cultivating a cell, which in its wild-type form is capable of producing the polypeptide, under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide. In a preferred aspect, the cell is of the genus Aspergillus. In a more preferred aspect, the cell is Aspergillus fumigatus. In another more preferred aspect, the cell is Aspergillus nidulans. In another preferred aspect, the cell is of the genus Magnaporthe. In another more preferred aspect, the cell is Magnaporthe grisea.

The present invention also relates to methods for producing a polypeptide of the present invention, comprising: (a) cultivating a host cell under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide.

The present invention also relates to methods for producing a polypeptide of the present invention, comprising: (a) cultivating a host cell under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide, wherein the host cell comprises a mutant nucleotide sequence having at least one mutation in the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 9, wherein the mutant nucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide which comprises or consists of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 8, or SEQ ID NO: 10, and (b) recovering the polypeptide.

In a preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 is amino acids 21 to 562. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4 is amino acids 25 to 588. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 6 is amino acids 21 to 598. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 8 is amino acids 19 to 534. In another preferred aspect, the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 10 is amino acids 22 to 578.

In the production methods of the present invention, the cells are cultivated in a nutrient medium suitable for production of the polypeptide using methods well known in the art. For example, the cell may be cultivated by shake flask cultivation, and small-scale or large-scale fermentation (including continuous, batch, fed-batch, or solid state fermentations) in laboratory or industrial fermentors performed in a suitable medium and under conditions allowing the polypeptide to be expressed and/or isolated. The cultivation takes place in a suitable nutrient medium comprising carbon and nitrogen sources and inorganic salts, using procedures known in the art. Suitable media are available from commercial suppliers or may be prepared according to published compositions (e.g., in catalogues of the American Type Culture Collection). If the polypeptide is secreted into the nutrient medium, the polypeptide can be recovered directly from the medium. If the polypeptide is not secreted into the medium, it can be recovered from cell lysates.

The polypeptides may be detected using methods known in the art that are specific for the polypeptides. These detection methods may include use of specific antibodies, formation of an enzyme product, or disappearance of an enzyme substrate. For example, an enzyme assay may be used to determine the activity of the polypeptide as described herein.

The resulting polypeptide may be recovered using methods known in the art. For example, the polypeptide may be recovered from the nutrient medium by conventional procedures including, but not limited to, centrifugation, filtration, extraction, spray-drying, evaporation, or precipitation.

The polypeptides of the present invention may be purified by a variety of procedures known in the art including, but not limited to, chromatography (e.g., ion exchange, affinity, hydrophobic, chromatofocusing, and size exclusion), electrophoretic procedures (e.g., preparative isoelectric focusing), differential solubility (e.g., ammonium sulfate precipitation), SDS-PAGE, or extraction (see, e.g., Protein Purification, J.-C. Janson and Lars Ryden, editors, VCH Publishers, New York, 1989) to obtain substantially pure polypeptides.

Plants

The present invention also relates to a transgenic plant, plant part, or plant cell which has been transformed with a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having lipase activity of the present invention so as to express and produce the polypeptide in recoverable quantities. The polypeptide may be recovered from the plant or plant part. Alternatively, the plant or plant part containing the recombinant polypeptide may be used as such for improving the quality of a food or feed, e.g., improving nutritional value, palatability, and rheological properties, or to destroy an antinutritive factor.

The transgenic plant can be dicotyledonous (a dicot) or monocotyledonous (a monocot). Examples of monocot plants are grasses, such as meadow grass (blue grass, Poa), forage grass such as Festuca, Lolium, temperate grass, such as Agrostis, and cereals, e.g., wheat, oats, rye, barley, rice, sorghum, and maize (corn).

Examples of dicot plants are tobacco, legumes, such as lupins, potato, sugar beet, pea, bean and soybean, and cruciferous plants (family Brassicaceae), such as cauliflower, rape seed, and the closely related model organism Arabidopsis thaliana.

Examples of plant parts are stem, callus, leaves, root, fruits, seeds, and tubers as well as the individual tissues comprising these parts, e.g., epidermis, mesophyll, parenchyme, vascular tissues, meristems. Specific plant cell compartments, such as chloroplasts, apoplasts, mitochondria, vacuoles, peroxisomes and cytoplasm are also considered to be a plant part. Furthermore, any plant cell, whatever the tissue origin, is considered to be a plant part. Likewise, plant parts such as specific tissues and cells isolated to facilitate the utilisation of the invention are also considered plant parts, e.g., embryos, endosperms, aleurone and seeds coats.

Also included within the scope of the present invention are the progeny of such plants, plant parts, and plant cells.

The transgenic plant or plant cell expressing a polypeptide of the present invention may be constructed in accordance with methods known in the art. In short, the plant or plant cell is constructed by incorporating one or more expression constructs encoding a polypeptide of the present invention into the plant host genome or chloroplast genome and propagating the resulting modified plant or plant cell into a transgenic plant or plant cell.

The expression construct is conveniently a nucleic acid construct which comprises a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention operably linked with appropriate regulatory sequences required for expression of the nucleotide sequence in the plant or plant part of choice. Furthermore, the expression construct may comprise a selectable marker useful for identifying host cells into which the expression construct has been integrated and DNA sequences necessary for introduction of the construct into the plant in question (the latter depends on the DNA introduction method to be used).

The choice of regulatory sequences, such as promoter and terminator sequences and optionally signal or transit sequences is determined, for example, on the basis of when, where, and how the polypeptide is desired to be expressed. For instance, the expression of the gene encoding a polypeptide of the present invention may be constitutive or inducible, or may be developmental, stage or tissue specific, and the gene product may be targeted to a specific tissue or plant part such as seeds or leaves. Regulatory sequences are, for example, described by Tague et al., 1988, Plant Physiology 86: 506.

For constitutive expression, the 35S-CaMV, the maize ubiquitin 1, and the rice actin 1 promoter may be used (Franck et al., 1980, Ce1121: 285-294, Christensen et al., 1992, Plant Mo. Biol. 18: 675-689; Zhang et al., 1991, Plant Ce113: 1155-1165). organ-specific promoters may be, for example, a promoter from storage sink tissues such as seeds, potato tubers, and fruits (Edwards & Coruzzi, 1990, Ann. Rev. Genet. 24: 275-303), or from metabolic sink tissues such as meristems (Ito et al., 1994, Plant Mol. Biol. 24: 863-878), a seed specific promoter such as the glutelin, prolamin, globulin, or albumin promoter from rice (Wu et al., 1998, Plant and Cell Physiology 39: 885-889), a Vicia faba promoter from the legumin B4 and the unknown seed protein gene from Vicia faba (Conrad et al., 1998, Journal of Plant Physiology 152: 708-711), a promoter from a seed oil body protein (Chen et al., 1998, Plant and Cell Physiology 39: 935-941), the storage protein napA promoter from Brassica napus, or any other seed specific promoter known in the art, e.g., as described in WO 91/14772. Furthermore, the promoter may be a leaf specific promoter such as the rbcs promoter from rice or tomato (Kyozuka et al., 1993, Plant Physiology 102: 991-1000, the chlorella virus adenine methyltransferase gene promoter (Mitra and Higgins, 1994, Plant Molecular Biology 26: 85-93), or the aldP gene promoter from rice (Kagaya et al., 1995, Molecular and General Genetics 248: 668-674), or a wound inducible promoter such as the potato pin2 promoter (Xu et al., 1993, Plant Molecular Biology 22: 573-588). Likewise, the promoter may inducible by abiotic treatments such as temperature, drought, or alterations in salinity or induced by exogenously applied substances that activate the promoter, e.g., ethanol, oestrogens, plant hormones such as ethylene, abscisic acid, and gibberellic acid, and heavy metals.

A promoter enhancer element may also be used to achieve higher expression of a polypeptide of the present invention in the plant. For instance, the promoter enhancer element may be an intron which is placed between the promoter and the nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of the present invention. For instance, Xu et al., 1993, supra, disclose the use of the first intron of the rice actin 1 gene to enhance expression.

The selectable marker gene and any other parts of the expression construct may be chosen from those available in the art.

The nucleic acid construct is incorporated into the plant genome according to conventional techniques known in the art, including Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, virus-mediated transformation, microinjection, particle bombardment, biolistic transformation, and electroporation (Gasser et al., 1990, Science 244: 1293; Potrykus, 1990, Bio/Technology 8: 535; Shimamoto et al., 1989, Nature 338: 274).

Presently, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer is the method of choice for generating transgenic dicots (for a review, see Hooykas and Schilperoort, 1992, Plant Molecular Biology 19: 15-38) and can also be used for transforming monocots, although other transformation methods are often used for these plants. Presently, the method of choice for generating transgenic monocots is particle bombardment (microscopic gold or tungsten particles coated with the transforming DNA) of embryonic calli or developing embryos (Christou, 1992, Plant Journal 2: 275-281; Shimamoto, 1994, Current Opinion Biotechnology 5: 158-162; Vasil et al., 1992, Bio/Technology 10: 667-674). An alternative method for transformation of monocots is based on protoplast transformation as described by Omirulleh et al., 1993, Plant Molecular Biology 21: 415-428.

Following transformation, the transformants having incorporated the expression construct are selected and regenerated into whole plants according to methods well-known in the art. Often the transformation procedure is designed for the selective elimination of selection genes either during regeneration or in the following generations by using, for example, co-transformation with two separate T-DNA constructs or site specific excision of the selection gene by a specific recombinase.

The present invention also relates to methods for producing a polypeptide of the present invention comprising: (a) cultivating a transgenic plant or a plant cell comprising a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having lipase activity of the present invention under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide.

Removal or Reduction of Lipase Activity

The present invention also relates to methods for producing a mutant of a parent cell, which comprises disrupting or deleting a polynucleotide sequence, or a portion thereof, encoding a polypeptide of the present invention, which results in the mutant cell producing less of the polypeptide than the parent cell when cultivated under the same conditions.

The mutant cell may be constructed by reducing or eliminating expression of a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of the present invention using methods well known in the art, for example, insertions, disruptions, replacements, or deletions. In a preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is inactivated. The nucleotide sequence to be modified or inactivated may be, for example, the coding region or a part thereof essential for activity, or a regulatory element required for the expression of the coding region. An example of such a regulatory or control sequence may be a promoter sequence or a functional part thereof, i.e., a part that is sufficient for affecting expression of the nucleotide sequence. Other control sequences for possible modification include, but are not limited to, a leader, polyadenylation sequence, propeptide sequence, signal peptide sequence, transcription terminator, and transcriptional activator.

Modification or inactivation of the nucleotide sequence may be performed by subjecting the parent cell to mutagenesis and selecting for mutant cells in which expression of the nucleotide sequence has been reduced or eliminated. The mutagenesis, which may be specific or random, may be performed, for example, by use of a suitable physical or chemical mutagenizing agent, by use of a suitable oligonucleotide, or by subjecting the DNA sequence to PCR generated mutagenesis. Furthermore, the mutagenesis may be performed by use of any combination of these mutagenizing agents.

Examples of a physical or chemical mutagenizing agent suitable for the present purpose include ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, hydroxylamine, N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), O-methyl hydroxylamine, nitrous acid, ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS), sodium bisulphite, formic acid, and nucleotide analogues.

When such agents are used, the mutagenesis is typically performed by incubating the parent cell to be mutagenized in the presence of the mutagenizing agent of choice under suitable conditions, and screening and/or selecting for mutant cells exhibiting reduced or no expression of the gene.

Modification or inactivation of the nucleotide sequence may be accomplished by introduction, substitution, or removal of one or more nucleotides in the gene or a regulatory element required for the transcription or translation thereof. For example, nucleotides may be inserted or removed so as to result in the introduction of a stop codon, the removal of the start codon, or a change in the open reading frame. Such modification or inactivation may be accomplished by site-directed mutagenesis or PCR generated mutagenesis in accordance with methods known in the art. Although, in principle, the modification may be performed in vivo, i.e., directly on the cell expressing the nucleotide sequence to be modified, it is preferred that the modification be performed in vitro as exemplified below.

An example of a convenient way to eliminate or reduce expression of a nucleotide sequence by a cell is based on techniques of gene replacement, gene deletion, or gene disruption. For example, in the gene disruption method, a nucleic acid sequence corresponding to the endogenous nucleotide sequence is mutagenized in vitro to produce a defective nucleic acid sequence which is then transformed into the parent cell to produce a defective gene. By homologous recombination, the defective nucleic acid sequence replaces the endogenous nucleotide sequence. It may be desirable that the defective nucleotide sequence also encodes a marker that may be used for selection of transformants in which the nucleotide sequence has been modified or destroyed. In a particularly preferred aspect, the nucleotide sequence is disrupted with a selectable marker such as those described herein.

Alternatively, modification or inactivation of the nucleotide sequence may be performed by established anti-sense or RNAi techniques using a sequence complementary to the nucleotide sequence. More specifically, expression of the nucleotide sequence by a cell may be reduced or eliminated by introducing a sequence complementary to the nucleotide sequence of the gene that may be transcribed in the cell and is capable of hybridizing to the mRNA produced in the cell. Under conditions allowing the complementary anti-sense nucleotide sequence to hybridize to the mRNA, the amount of protein translated is thus reduced or eliminated.

The present invention further relates to a mutant cell of a parent cell which comprises a disruption or deletion of a nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide or a control sequence thereof, which results in the mutant cell producing less of the polypeptide or no polypeptide compared to the parent cell.

The polypeptide-deficient mutant cells so created are particularly useful as host cells for the expression of homologous and/or heterologous polypeptides. Therefore, the present invention further relates to methods for producing a homologous or heterologous polypeptide comprising: (a) cultivating the mutant cell under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide. The term “heterologous polypeptides” is defined herein as polypeptides which are not native to the host cell, a native protein in which modifications have been made to alter the native sequence, or a native protein whose expression is quantitatively altered as a result of a manipulation of the host cell by recombinant DNA techniques.

In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for producing a protein product essentially free of lipase activity by fermentation of a cell which produces both a polypeptide of the present invention as well as the protein product of interest by adding an effective amount of an agent capable of inhibiting lipase activity to the fermentation broth before, during, or after the fermentation has been completed, recovering the product of interest from the fermentation broth, and optionally subjecting the recovered product to further purification.

In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for producing a protein product essentially free of lipase activity by cultivating the cell under conditions permitting the expression of the product, subjecting the resultant culture broth to a combined pH and temperature treatment so as to reduce the lipase activity substantially, and recovering the product from the culture broth. Alternatively, the combined pH and temperature treatment may be performed on an enzyme preparation recovered from the culture broth. The combined pH and temperature treatment may optionally be used in combination with a treatment with an lipase inhibitor.

In accordance with this aspect of the invention, it is possible to remove at least 60%, preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 85%, still more preferably at least 95%, and most preferably at least 99% of the lipase activity. Complete removal of lipase activity may be obtained by use of this method.

The combined pH and temperature treatment is preferably carried out at a pH in the range of 2-4 or 9-11 and a temperature in the range of at least 60-70° C. for a sufficient period of time to attain the desired effect, where typically, 30 to 60 minutes is sufficient.

The methods used for cultivation and purification of the product of interest may be performed by methods known in the art.

The methods of the present invention for producing an essentially lipase-free product is of particular interest in the production of eukaryotic polypeptides, in particular fungal proteins such as enzymes. The enzyme may be selected from, e.g., an amylolytic enzyme, lipolytic enzyme, proteolytic enzyme, cellulytic enzyme, oxidoreductase, or plant cell-wall degrading enzyme. Examples of such enzymes include an aminopeptidase, amylase, amyloglucosidase, carbohydrase, carboxypeptidase, catalase, cellulase, chitinase, cutinase, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase, deoxyribonuclease, esterase, galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, glucoamylase, glucose oxidase, glucosidase, haloperoxidase, hemicellulase, invertase, isomerase, laccase, ligase, lipase, lyase, mannosidase, oxidase, pectinolytic enzyme, peroxidase, phytase, phenoloxidase, polyphenoloxidase, proteolytic enzyme, ribonuclease, transferase, transglutaminase, or xylanase. The lipase-deficient cells may also be used to express heterologous proteins of pharmaceutical interest such as hormones, growth factors, receptors, and the like.

It will be understood that the term “eukaryotic polypeptides” includes not only native polypeptides, but also those polypeptides, e.g., enzymes, which have been modified by amino acid substitutions, deletions or additions, or other such modifications to enhance activity, thermostability, pH tolerance and the like.

In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a protein product essentially free from lipase activity which is produced by a method of the present invention.

Compositions

The present invention also relates to compositions comprising a polypeptide of the present invention. Preferably, the compositions are enriched in such a polypeptide. The term “enriched” indicates that the lipase activity of the composition has been increased, e.g., with an enrichment factor of at least 1.1.

The composition may comprise a polypeptide of the present invention as the major enzymatic component, e.g., a mono-component composition. Alternatively, the composition may comprise multiple enzymatic activities, such as an aminopeptidase, amylase, carbohydrase, carboxypeptidase, catalase, cellulase, chitinase, cutinase, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase, deoxyribonuclease, esterase, alpha-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, glucoamylase, alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, haloperoxidase, invertase, laccase, lipase, mannosidase, oxidase, pectinolytic enzyme, peptidoglutaminase, peroxidase, phytase, polyphenoloxidase, proteolytic enzyme, ribonuclease, transglutaminase, or xylanase. The additional enzyme(s) may be produced, for example, by a microorganism belonging to the genus Aspergillus, preferably Aspergillus aculeatus, Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus foetidus, Aspergillus japonicus, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, or Aspergillus oryzae; Fusarium, preferably Fusarium bactridioides, Fusarium cerealis, Fusarium crookwellense, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium graminum, Fusarium heterosporum, Fusarium negundi, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium reticulatum, Fusarium roseum, Fusarium sambucinum, Fusarium sarcochroum, Fusarium sulphureum, Fusarium toruloseum, Fusarium trichothecioides, or Fusarium venenatum; Humicola, preferably Humicola insolens or Humicola lanuginosa; or Trichoderma, preferably Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trichoderma reesei, or Trichoderma viride.

The polypeptide compositions may be prepared in accordance with methods known in the art and may be in the form of a liquid or a dry composition. For instance, the polypeptide composition may be in the form of a granulate or a microgranulate. The polypeptide to be included in the composition may be stabilized in accordance with methods known in the art.

Examples are given below of preferred uses of the polypeptide compositions of the invention. The dosage of the polypeptide composition of the invention and other conditions under which the composition is used may be determined on the basis of methods known in the art.

Uses

The present invention is also directed to methods for using the polypeptides having lipase activity, or compositions thereof.

Use in Degumming.

A polypeptide of the present invention may be used for degumming an aqueous carbohydrate solution or slurry to improve its filterability, particularly, a starch hydrolysate, especially a wheat starch hydrolysate which is difficult to filter and yields cloudy filtrates. The treatment may be performed using methods well known in the art. See, for example, EP 219,269, EP 808,903, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,505.

Use in Baking.

A polypeptide of the present invention may be used in baking according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,715.

Use in Detergents.

The polypeptides of the present invention may be added to and thus become a component of a detergent composition.

The detergent composition of the present invention may be formulated, for example, as a hand or machine laundry detergent composition including a laundry additive composition suitable for pre-treatment of stained fabrics and a rinse added fabric softener composition, or be formulated as a detergent composition for use in general household hard surface cleaning operations, or be formulated for hand or machine dishwashing operations.

In a specific aspect, the present invention provides a detergent additive comprising a polypeptide of the present invention as described herein. The detergent additive as well as the detergent composition may comprise one or more enzymes such as a protease, lipase, cutinase, an amylase, carbohydrase, cellulase, pectinase, mannanase, arabinase, galactanase, xylanase, oxidase, e.g., a laccase, and/or peroxidase.

In general the properties of the selected enzyme(s) should be compatible with the selected detergent, (i.e., pH-optimum, compatibility with other enzymatic and non-enzymatic ingredients, etc.), and the enzyme(s) should be present in effective amounts.

Cellulases:

Suitable cellulases include those of bacterial or fungal origin. Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants are included. Suitable cellulases include cellulases from the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Humicola, Fusarium, Thielavia, Acremonium, e.g., the fungal cellulases produced from Humicola insolens, Myceliophthora thermophila and Fusarium oxysporum disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,307, U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,263, U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,178, U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,757 and WO 89/09259.

Especially suitable cellulases are the alkaline or neutral cellulases having color care benefits. Examples of such cellulases are cellulases described in EP 0 495 257, EP 0 531 372, WO 96/11262, WO 96/29397, WO 98/08940. Other examples are cellulase variants such as those described in WO 94/07998, EP 0 531 315, U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,046, U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,593, U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,254WO 95/24471, WO 98/12307 and PCT/DK98/00299.

Commercially available cellulases include Celluzyme™, and Carezyme™ (Novozymes NS), Clazinase™, and Puradax HA™ (Genencor International Inc.), and KAC-500(B)™ (Kao Corporation).

Proteases:

Suitable proteases include those of animal, vegetable or microbial origin. Microbial origin is preferred. Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants are included. The protease may be a serine protease or a metalloprotease, preferably an alkaline microbial protease or a trypsin-like protease. Examples of alkaline proteases are subtilisins, especially those derived from Bacillus, e.g., subtilisin Novo, subtilisin Carlsberg, subtilisin 309, subtilisin 147 and subtilisin 168 (described in WO 89/06279). Examples of trypsin-like proteases are trypsin (e.g., of porcine or bovine origin) and the Fusarium protease described in WO 89/06270 and WO 94/25583.

Examples of useful proteases are the variants described in WO 92/19729, WO 98/20115, WO 98/20116, and WO 98/34946, especially the variants with substitutions in one or more of the following positions: 27, 36, 57, 76, 87, 97, 101, 104, 120, 123, 167, 170, 194, 206, 218, 222, 224, 235, and 274.

Preferred commercially available protease enzymes include Alcalase™, Savinase™ Primase™, Duralase™, Esperase™, and Kannase™ (Novozymes A/S), Maxatase™ Maxacal™, Maxapem™, Properase™, Purafect™, Purafect OxP™, FN2™, and FN3™ (Genencor International Inc.).

Lipases:

Suitable lipases include those of bacterial or fungal origin. Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants are included. Examples of useful lipases include lipases from Humicola (synonym Thermomyces), e.g., from H. lanuginosa (T. lanuginosus) as described in EP 258 068 and EP 305 216 or from H. insolens as described in WO 96/13580, a Pseudomonas lipase, e.g., from P. alcaligenes or P. pseudoalcaligenes (EP 218 272), P. cepacia (EP 331 376), P. stutzeri (GB 1,372,034), P. fluorescens, Pseudomonas sp. strain SD 705 (WO 95/06720 and WO 96/27002), P. wisconsinensis (WO 96/12012), a Bacillus lipase, e.g., from B. subtilis (Dartois et al., 1993, Biochemica et Biophysica Acta, 1131: 253-360), B. stearothermophilus (JP 64/744992) or B. pumilus (WO 91/16422).

Other examples are lipase variants such as those described in WO 92/05249, WO 94/01541, EP 407 225, EP 260 105, WO 95/35381, WO 96/00292, WO 95/30744, WO 94/25578, WO 95/14783, WO 95/22615, WO 97/04079 and WO 97/07202.

Preferred commercially available lipase enzymes include Lipolase™, Lipolase Ultra™, and Lipex™ (Novozymes A/S).

Amylases:

Suitable amylases (α and/or β) include those of bacterial or fungal origin. Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants are included. Amylases include, for example, α-amylases obtained from Bacillus, e.g., a special strain of Bacillus licheniformis, described in more detail in GB 1,296,839.

Examples of useful amylases are the variants described in WO 94/02597, WO 94/18314, WO 96/23873, and WO 97/43424, especially the variants with substitutions in one or more of the following positions: 15, 23, 105, 106, 124, 128, 133, 154, 156, 181, 188, 190, 197, 202, 208, 209, 243, 264, 304, 305, 391, 408, and 444.

Commercially available amylases are Duramyl™, Termamyl™, Fungamyl™ and BAN™ (Novozymes A/S), Rapidase™ and Purastar™ (from Genencor International Inc.).

Peroxidases/Oxidases:

Suitable peroxidases/oxidases include those of plant, bacterial or fungal origin. Chemically modified or protein engineered mutants are included. Examples of useful peroxidases include peroxidases from Coprinus, e.g., from C. cinereus, and variants thereof as those described in WO 93/24618, WO 95/10602, and WO 98/15257.

Commercially available peroxidases include Guardzyme™ (Novozymes A/S).

The detergent enzyme(s) may be included in a detergent composition by adding separate additives containing one or more enzymes, or by adding a combined additive comprising all of these enzymes. A detergent additive of the invention, i.e., a separate additive or a combined additive, can be formulated, for example, as a granulate, liquid, slurry, etc. Preferred detergent additive formulations are granulates, in particular non-dusting granulates, liquids, in particular stabilized liquids, or slurries.

Non-dusting granulates may be produced, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,106,991 and 4,661,452 and may optionally be coated by methods known in the art. Examples of waxy coating materials are poly(ethylene oxide) products (polyethyleneglycol, PEG) with mean molar weights of 1000 to 20000; ethoxylated nonylphenols having from 16 to 50 ethylene oxide units; ethoxylated fatty alcohols in which the alcohol contains from 12 to 20 carbon atoms and in which there are 15 to 80 ethylene oxide units; fatty alcohols; fatty acids; and mono- and di- and triglycerides of fatty acids. Examples of film-forming coating materials suitable for application by fluid bed techniques are given in GB 1483591. Liquid enzyme preparations may, for instance, be stabilized by adding a polyol such as propylene glycol, a sugar or sugar alcohol, lactic acid or boric acid according to established methods. Protected enzymes may be prepared according to the method disclosed in EP 238,216.

The detergent composition of the invention may be in any convenient form, e.g., a bar, a tablet, a powder, a granule, a paste or a liquid. A liquid detergent may be aqueous, typically containing up to 70% water and 0-30% organic solvent, or non-aqueous.

The detergent composition comprises one or more surfactants, which may be non-ionic including semi-polar and/or anionic and/or cationic and/or zwitterionic. The surfactants are typically present at a level of from 0.1% to 60% by weight.

When included therein the detergent will usually contain from about 1% to about 40% of an anionic surfactant such as linear alkylbenzenesulfonate, alpha-olefinsulfonate, alkyl sulfate (fatty alcohol sulfate), alcohol ethoxysulfate, secondary alkanesulfonate, alpha-sulfo fatty acid methyl ester, alkyl- or alkenylsuccinic acid, or soap.

When included therein the detergent will usually contain from about 0.2% to about 40% of a non-ionic surfactant such as alcohol ethoxylate, nonylphenol ethoxylate, alkylpolyglycoside, alkyldimethylamineoxide, ethoxylated fatty acid monoethanolamide, fatty acid monoethanolamide, polyhydroxy alkyl fatty acid amide, or N-acyl N-alkyl derivatives of glucosamine (“glucamides”).

The detergent may contain 0-65% of a detergent builder or complexing agent such as zeolite, diphosphate, triphosphate, phosphonate, carbonate, citrate, nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, alkyl- or alkenylsuccinic acid, soluble silicates, or layered silicates (e.g., SKS-6 from Hoechst).

The detergent may comprise one or more polymers. Examples are carboxymethylcellulose, poly(vinylpyrrolidone), poly (ethylene glycol), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinylpyridine-N-oxide), poly(vinylimidazole), polycarboxylates such as polyacrylates, maleic/acrylic acid copolymers, and lauryl methacrylate/acrylic acid copolymers.

The detergent may contain a bleaching system which may comprise a H₂O₂ source such as perborate or percarbonate which may be combined with a peracid-forming bleach activator such as tetraacetylethylenediamine or nonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate. Alternatively, the bleaching system may comprise peroxyacids of, for example, the amide, imide, or sulfone type.

The enzyme(s) of the detergent composition of the invention may be stabilized using conventional stabilizing agents, e.g., a polyol such as propylene glycol or glycerol, a sugar or sugar alcohol, lactic acid, boric acid, or a boric acid derivative, e.g., an aromatic borate ester, or a phenyl boronic acid derivative such as 4-formylphenyl boronic acid, and the composition may be formulated as described in, for example, WO 92/19709 and WO 92/19708.

The detergent may also contain other conventional detergent ingredients such as, e.g., fabric conditioners including clays, foam boosters, suds suppressors, anti-corrosion agents, soil-suspending agents, anti-soil redeposition agents, dyes, bactericides, optical brighteners, hydrotropes, tarnish inhibitors, or perfumes.

In the detergent compositions, any enzyme may be added in an amount corresponding to 0.01-100 mg of enzyme protein per liter of wash liquor, preferably 0.05-5 mg of enzyme protein per liter of wash liquor, in particular 0.1-1 mg of enzyme protein per liter of wash liquor.

In the detergent compositions, a polypeptide of the present invention may be added in an amount corresponding to 0.001-100 mg of protein, preferably 0.005-50 mg of protein, more preferably 0.01-25 mg of protein, even more preferably 0.05-10 mg of protein, most preferably 0.05-5 mg of protein, and even most preferably 0.01-1 mg of protein per liter of wash liquor.

A polypeptide of the present invention may also be incorporated in the detergent formulations disclosed in WO 97/07202, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Signal Peptide

The present invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs comprising a gene encoding a protein operably linked to a nucleotide sequence comprising or consisting of nucleotides 1 to 60 of SEQ ID NO: 1, nucleotides 1 to 72 of SEQ ID NO: 3, nucleotides 1 to 60 of SEQ ID NO: 5, nucleotides 1 to 54 of SEQ ID NO: 7, or nucleotides 1 to 63 of SEQ ID NO: 9, encoding a signal peptide comprising or consisting of amino acids 1 to 20 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acids 1 to 24 of SEQ ID NO: 4, amino acids 1 to 20 of SEQ ID NO: 6, amino acids 1 to 18 of SEQ ID NO: 8, or amino acids 1 to 21 of SEQ ID NO: 10, respectively, wherein the gene is foreign to the nucleotide sequence.

The present invention also relates to recombinant expression vectors and recombinant host cells comprising such nucleic acid constructs.

The present invention also relates to methods for producing a protein comprising (a) cultivating such a recombinant host cell under conditions suitable for production of the protein; and (b) recovering the protein.

The protein may be native or heterologous to a host cell. The term “protein” is not meant herein to refer to a specific length of the encoded product and, therefore, encompasses peptides, oligopeptides, and proteins. The term “protein” also encompasses two or more polypeptides combined to form the encoded product. The proteins also include hybrid polypeptides which comprise a combination of partial or complete polypeptide sequences obtained from at least two different proteins wherein one or more may be heterologous or native to the host cell. Proteins further include naturally occurring allelic and engineered variations of the above mentioned proteins and hybrid proteins.

Preferably, the protein is a hormone or variant thereof, enzyme, receptor or portion thereof, antibody or portion thereof, or reporter. In a more preferred aspect, the protein is an oxidoreductase, transferase, hydrolase, lyase, isomerase, or ligase. In an even more preferred aspect, the protein is an aminopeptidase, amylase, carbohydrase, carboxypeptidase, catalase, cellulase, chitinase, cutinase, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase, deoxyribonuclease, esterase, alpha-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, glucoamylase, alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, invertase, laccase, another lipase, mannosidase, mutanase, oxidase, pectinolytic enzyme, peroxidase, phytase, polyphenoloxidase, proteolytic enzyme, ribonuclease, transglutaminase or xylanase.

The gene may be obtained from any prokaryotic, eukaryotic, or other source.

The present invention is further described by the following examples which should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES

Materials

Chemicals used as buffers and substrates were commercial products of at least reagent grade.

Strains

Aspergillus fumigatus PaHa34, Fusarium graminearum NRRL 31084, Magnaporthe grisea FGSC 8958 (Fungal Genetics Stock Center), and Aspergillus nidulans FGSC 2489 (Fungal Genetics Stock Center) were used as the sources of the lipase genes.

Media

SOC medium was composed per liter of 20 g of tryptone, 5 g of yeast extract, 2 ml of 5 M NaCl, and 2.5 ml of 1 M KCl.

NZY⁺ medium was composed per liter of 10 g of NZ amine, 5 g of yeast extract, 5 g of NaCl, 12.5 mM MgCl₂, 12.5 mM MgSO₄, and 10 ml of 2 M glucose.

LB medium was composed per liter of 10 g of tryptone, 5 g of yeast extract, and 5 g of NaCl.

MY25 medium was composed per liter of 25 g of maltodextrin, 2 g of MgSO₄.7H₂O, 10 g of KH₂PO₄, 2 g of citric acid, 2 g of K₂SO₄, 2 g of urea, 10 g of yeast extract, and 1.5 ml of AMG trace metals solution, adjusted to pH 6.

AMG trace metals solution was composed per liter of 14.3 g of ZnSO₄.7H₂O, 2.5 g of CuSO₄.5H₂O, 0.5 g of NiCl₂.6H₂O, 13.8 g of FeSO₄.7H₂O, 8.5 g of MnSO₄.H₂O, and 3 g of citric acid.

COVE selection plates were composed per liter of 342.3 g of sucrose, 20 ml of COVE salt solution, 10 mM acetamide, 15 mM CsCl₂, and 25 g of Noble agar.

COVE salt solution was composed per liter of 26 g of KCl, 26 g of MgSO₄.7H₂O, 76 g of KH₂PO₄, and 50 ml of COVE trace metals solution.

COVE trace metals solution was composed per liter of 0.04 g of NaB₄O₇.10H₂O, 0.4 g of CuSO₄.5H₂O, 1.2 g of FeSO₄.7H₂O, 0.7 g of MnSO₄.H₂O, 0.8 g of Na₂MoO₂.2H₂O, and 10 g of ZnSO₄.7H₂O.

2×YT plates were composed per liter of 16 g of tryptone, 10 g of yeast extract, 5 g of NaCl, and 15 g of Bacto agar.

M400 medium was composed per liter of 50 g of maltodextrin, 2 g of MgSO₄.7H₂O, 2 g of KH₂PO₄, 4 g of citric acid, 8 g of yeast extract, 2 g of urea, 0.5 g of CaCl₂, and 0.5 ml of AMG trace metals solution.

AMG trace metals solution was composed per liter of 14.3 g of ZnSO₄.7H₂O, 2.5 g of CuSO₄.5H₂O, 0.5 g of NiCl₂.6H₂O, 13.8 g of FeSO₄.7H₂O, 8.5 g of MnSO₄.H₂O, and 3 g of citric acid.

NZY⁺ medium was composed per liter of 10 g of NZ amine, 5 g of yeast extract, 5 g of NaCl, 12.5 mM MgCl₂, 12.5 mM MgSO₄, and 10 ml of 2 M glucose.

RA sporulation medium was composed per liter of 1 g of glucose, 50 g of succinic acid, 12.1 g of NaNO₃, and 20 ml of 50× Vogel's salts (no C, no N).

50× Vogel's salts (no C, no N) was composed per liter of 250 g of KH₂PO₄, 10 g of MgSO₄.7H₂O, 5 g of CaCl₂.2H₂O, 2.5 ml of biotin solution, and 5 ml of Vogel's trace elements.

50× Vogel's trace elements solution was composed per liter of 50 g of citric acid, 50 g of ZnSO₄.7H₂O, 10 g of Fe(NH₄)₂(SO₄)₂.6H₂O, 2.5 g of CuSO₄.5H₂O, 0.5 g of MnSO₄.H₂O, 0.5 g of H₃BO₃, and 0.5 g of Na₂MoO₄.2H₂O.

YPG medium was composed per liter of 1% yeast extract, 2% bactopeptone, and 5% glucose.

Vogel's NO₃ regeneration low-melt medium was composed per liter of 20 ml of 50× Vogels solution with 25 mM NaNO₃ stock, 0.8 M sucrose and 1.5% low melting agarose (Sigma Chemical Company, St. Louis, Mo.). Where BASTA™ was added to the medium, BASTA™ was obtained from AgrEvo (Hoechst Schering, Rodovre, Denmark) and was extracted twice with phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1), and once with chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (24:1) before use.

50× Vogels solution with 25 mM NaNO₃ stock was composed of per liter of 125 g of sodium citrate, 250 g of KH₂PO₄, 106.25 g of NaNO₃, 10 g of MgSO₄.7H₂O, 5 g of CaCl₂.2H₂O, 2.5 g of biotin solution, and 5 ml of 50× Vogels trace element solution.

Biotin stock solution was composed of 5 mg of biotin in 100 ml of 50% ethanol. 200× AMG trace metals solution was composed per liter of 3 g of citric acid, 14.3 g of ZnSO₄.7H₂O, 2.5 g of CuSO₄.5H₂O, 13.8 g of FeSO₄.7H₂O, and 8.5 g of MnSO₄.H₂O.

STC was composed of 0.8 M sorbitol, 50 mM CaCl₂, and 25 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.

SPTC was composed of 0.8 M sorbitol, 25 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8, 50 mM CaCl₂, and 40% PEG 4000.

CM medium was composed per liter of 6 g yeast extract, 6 g casein acid hydrolysate, and 10 g sucrose.

Example 1 Identification of Lipase Genes in the Partial Genomic Sequence of Aspergillus fumigatus

A tfasty search (Pearson, W. R., 1999, in Bioinformatics Methods and Protocols, S. Misener and S. A. Krawetz, ed., pp. 185-219) of the Aspergillus fumigatus partial genome sequence (The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Md.) was carried out using as query a lipase sequence from Geotrichum candidum (SWALL P17577). Several genes were identified as putative lipases based upon a high degree of similarity to the query sequence at the amino acid level. A genomic region of approximately 1562 bp with greater than 39% identity to the query sequence at the amino acid level was chosen for further study. Gene models for the putative lipase genes were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichum candidum lipase as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns.

Example 2 Aspergillus fumigatus Genomic DNA Extraction

Aspergillus fumigatus was grown in 250 ml of potato dextrose medium in a baffled shake flask at 37° C. and 240 rpm. Mycelia were harvested by filtration, washed twice in 10 mM Tris-1 mM EDTA (TE), and frozen under liquid nitrogen. Frozen mycelia were ground, by mortar and pestle, to a fine powder, which was resuspended in pH 8.0 buffer containing 10 mM Tris, 100 mM EDTA, 1% Triton X-100, 0.5 M guanidine-HCl, and 200 mM NaCl. DNase-free RNase A was added at a concentration of 20 mg/liter and the lysate was incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes. Cellular debris was removed by centrifugation, and DNA was isolated using a QIAGEN Maxi 500 column (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.). The columns were equilibrated in 10 ml of QBT, washed with 30 ml of QC, and eluted with 15 ml of QF (all buffers from QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.). DNA was precipitated in isopropanol, washed in 70% ethanol, and recovered by centrifugation. The DNA was resuspended in TE buffer.

Example 3 Cloning of the Aspergillus fumigatus Lipase Gene

Two synthetic oligonucleotide primers shown below were designed based on the predicted start and stop codons of the open reading frame to PCR amplify an Aspergillus fumigatus gene encoding a lipase from the genomic DNA prepared in Example 2.

Forward primer: (SEQ ID NO: 11) 5′-ACACAACTGGCCATGCATCTCCTCCGGGTTGTTCTG-3′ Reverse primer: (SEQ ID NO: 12) 5′-AGTCACCTCTAGTTAATTAACTAGATATGGAACGAATCCA-3′ Bold letters represent coding sequence. The remaining sequence is homologous to the insertion sites of pBM120a (see Example 6).

The fragment of interest was amplified by PCR using the Expand High Fidelity PCR System (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). One μM of each of the primers above were used in a PCR reaction containing 200 ng of Aspergillus fumigatus genomic DNA, 1×PCR buffer (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) with 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 1 μl of dNTP mix (10 mM each), and 0.75 μl of DNA polymerase mix (3.5 U/μl; Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) in a final volume of 50 μl. To amplify the fragment, an Eppendorf Mastercycler thermocycler (Hamburg, Germany) was programmed for 1 cycle at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 61° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 61° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes plus a 5 second elongation at each successive cycle; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes; and a 10° C. hold.

The reaction product was visualized on a 0.7% agarose gel using 44 mM Tris Base, 44 mM boric acid, 0.5 mM EDTA (TBE) buffer and the 1.7 kb product band was purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The PCR fragment and pCR2.1-TOPO (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) were ligated using conditions specified by the manufacturer resulting in plasmid pJLin173 (FIG. 1).

Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli TOP10 One Shot competent cells (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's instructions. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 5 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 30 seconds at 42° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 250 μl volume of SOC medium was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Twelve colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. An E. coli transformant containing the pJLin173 was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a BioRobot 9600 (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.).

E. coli TOP 10 One Shot cells containing pJLin173 were deposited with the Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604, as NRRL B-30782, with a deposit date of Oct. 12, 2004.

Example 4 Characterization of the Aspergillus fumigatus Genomic Sequence Encoding Lipase

DNA sequencing of the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase gene from pJLin173 was performed with an Applied Biosystems Model 377 XL DNA Sequencer (Perkin-Elmer/Applied Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, Calif.) using dye-terminator chemistry (Giesecke et al., 1992, Journal of Virology Methods 38: 47-60) and primer walking strategy. Nucleotide sequence data were scrutinized for quality and all sequences were compared to each other with assistance of PHRED/PHRAP software (University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.).

Gene models for the lipase gene were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichum candidum lipase as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns. A comparative alignment of amino acid sequences was made using the MAFFT method with iterative refinement and default parameters (Katoh et al., 2002, Nucleic Acids Research 30: 3059). The nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 2) are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The genomic fragment encodes a polypeptide of 562 amino acids. The % G+C content of the gene is 59.7% and of the mature protein coding region (nucleotides 61 to 1686 of SEQ ID NO: 1) is 59.6%. Using the SignalP software program (Nielsen et al., 1997, Protein Engineering 10:1-6), a signal peptide of 20 residues was predicted. The predicted mature protein contains 542 amino acids with a molecular mass of 58.7 kDa.

A comparative alignment of lipase sequences was made employing the Clustal W method (Higgins, 1989, CABIOS 5: 151-153) using the LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters were Ktuple=1, gap penalty=3, windows=5, and diagonals=5. The alignment showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase gene shared 35% identity to the deduced amino acid sequence of a Geotrichum candidum lipase gene (SWALL P17573).

Example 5 Construction of pAILo1 Expression Vector

Expression vector pAILo1 was constructed by modifying pBANe6 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,837), which comprises a hybrid of the promoters from the genes for Aspergillus niger neutral alpha-amylase and Aspergillus oryzae triose phosphate isomerase (NA2-tpi promoter), Aspergillus niger amyloglucosidase terminator sequence (AMG terminator), and Aspergillus nidulans acetamidase gene (amdS). Modification of pBANe6 was performed by first eliminating three Nco I restriction sites at positions 2051, 2722, and 3397 bp from the amdS selection marker by site-directed mutagenesis. All changes were designed to be “silent” leaving the actual protein sequence of the amdS gene product unchanged. Removal of these three sites was performed simultaneously with a GeneEditor Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Promega, Madison, Wis.) according to the manufacturer's instructions using the following primers

AMDS3NcoMut (2050): (SEQ ID NO: 13) 5′-GTGCCCCATGATACGCCTCCGG-3′ AMDS2NcoMut (2721): (SEQ ID NO: 14) 5′-GAGTCGTATTTCCAAGGCTCCTGACC-3′ AMDS1NcoMut (3396): (SEQ ID NO: 15) 5′-GGAGGCCATGAAGTGGACCAACGG-3′

A plasmid comprising all three expected sequence changes was then submitted to site-directed mutagenesis, using a QuickChange Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.), to eliminate the Nco I restriction site at the end of the AMG terminator at position 1643. The following primers (underlined nucleotide represents the changed base) were used for mutagenesis:

Upper Primer to mutagenize the AMG terminator sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 16) 5′-CACCGTGAAAGCCATGCTCTTTCCTTCGTGTAGAAGACCAGACAG-3′ Lower Primer to mutagenize the AMG terminator sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 17) 5′-CTGGTCTTCTACACGAAGGAAAGAGCATGGCTTTCACGGTGTCTG-3′

The last step in the modification of pBANe6 was the addition of a new Nco I restriction site at the beginning of the polylinker using a QuickChange Mutagenesis Kit and the following primers (underlined nucleotides represent the changed bases) to yield pAILo1 (FIG. 3).

Upper Primer to mutagenize the NA2-tpi promoter: (SEQ ID NO: 18) 5′-CTATATACACAACTGGATTTACCATGGGCCCGCGGCCGCAGATC-3′ Lower Primer to mutagenize the NA2-tpi promoter: (SEQ ID NO: 19) 5′-GATCTGCGGCCGCGGGCCCATGGTAAATCCAGTTGTGTATATAG-3′

Example 6 Construction of pBM120a Expression Vector

Plasmid pBM120a was constructed to obtain a plasmid containing the double NA2 promoter (NA2-NA2-tpi) for driving gene expression in Aspergillus species, and containing the ampicillin resistance gene for selection in E. coli.

Primers were designed to PCR amplify the double NA2 promoter from pJaL721 (WO 03/008575). Restriction enzyme sites Sal I and Nco I (underlined) were added for cloning the double promoter into the Aspergillus expression plasmid pAILo1.

(SEQ ID NO: 20) 5′-GTCGACATGGTGTTTTGATCATTTTA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 21) 5′-CCATGGCCAGTTGTGTATATAGAGGA-3′

The fragment of interest was amplified by PCR using the Expand High Fidelity PCR System. The PCR amplification reaction mixture contained 1 μl of 0.09 μg of pJaL721 per μl, 1 μl of each of the primers (50 μmol/μl), 5 μl of 10×PCR buffer with 15 mM MgCl₂, 1 μl of a dATP, dTTP, dGTP, and dCTP mix (10 mM each), 37.25 μl of water, and 0.75 μl of DNA polymerase mix (3.5 U/μl). To amplify the fragment, an Eppendorf Mastercycler thermocycler was programmed for 1 cycle at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 55° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 55° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes plus a 5 second elongation at each successive cycle; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes; and a 10° C. hold. Ten microliters of this PCR reaction was mixed with 1 μl of 10×DNA loading dye (25% glycerol, 10 mM Tris pH 7.0, 10 mM EDTA, 0.025% bromophenol blue, 0.025% xylene cyanol) and run on a 1.0% (w/v) agarose gel using TBE buffer. The 1128 bp PCR product was observed with UV light on a Nucleotech gel visualization system (Nucleotech, San Mateo, Calif.). The PCR product was directly ligated into pPC2.1-TOPO according to the manufacturer's instructions. A 1 μl volume of fresh PCR product, 3 μl of double-distilled water, and 1 μl of the TOPO cloning vector were mixed with a pipette and incubated at room temperature for 5 minutes.

After the incubation, 2 μl of the mixture was used to transform OneShot competent E. coli cells. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 5 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 30 seconds at 42° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 250 μl volume of SOC medium was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Eight colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. The plasmids were isolated using a QIAGEN BioRobot 9600.

Four μl volumes of the resulting plasmid minipreps were digested with Eco RI. The digestion reactions were analyzed by agarose gel chromatography and UV analysis as previously described for the PCR reaction. Isolated plasmids containing an insert were sequenced using 1 μl of plasmid template, 1.6 ng of M13 primer (forward or reverse) (MWG Biotech; High Point; NC), and water to 6 μl. DNA sequencing was performed with an Applied Biosystems Model 377 Sequencer XL (Applied Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, Calif.) using dye-terminator chemistry. The resulting plasmid was designated pBM121b (FIG. 4).

A 5 μl volume of pBM121b was digested with Sal I and Nco I. The digestion reactions were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis as described above, and ligated to the vector pAILo1, which had been previously digested with Sal I and Nco I. The resulting expression plasmid was designated pBM120a (FIG. 5).

Example 7 Construction of an Aspergillus oryzae Expression Vector Expressing Aspergillus fumigatus Lipase Gene

The 1.7 kb PCR fragment (Example 3) containing the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase gene was cloned into pBM120a using an InFusion Cloning Kit (BD Biosciences, Palo Alto, Calif.) where the vector was digested with Nco I and Pac I. The digested vector was purified by gel electrophoresis using a 0.7% agarose gel with TBE buffer, and the PCR fragment was extracted using a QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.) and purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit. The gene fragment and the digested vector were ligated together in a reaction resulting in the expression plasmid pJLin172 (FIG. 6). The ligation reaction (50 μl) was composed of 1× InFusion Buffer (BD Biosciences, Palo Alto, Calif.), 1×BSA (BD Biosciences, Palo Alto, Calif.), 1 μl of Infusion enzyme (diluted 1:10) (BD Biosciences, Palo Alto, Calif.), 100 ng of pBM120a digested with Nco I and Pac I, and 50 ng of the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase gene purified PCR product. The reaction was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes. Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli SoloPack Gold supercompetent cells (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's instructions. One μl of β-mercaptoethanol was added to competent cells, and incubated on ice for 10 minutes. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was then added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 30 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 60 seconds at 54° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 150 μl volume of NZY⁺ medium at 42° C. was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Twelve colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. An E. coli transformant containing the pJLin172 plasmid was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a QIAGEN BioRobot 9600.

Example 8 Expression of the Aspergillus fumigatus Lipase Gene in Aspergillus oryzae BECh2

Aspergillus oryzae BECh2 (Δalp, Δamy, CPA-, KA-, Δnp1) protoplasts were prepared according to the method of Christensen et al., 1988, Bio/Technology 6: 1419-1422. Five μg of pJLin172 was used to transform Aspergillus oryzae BECh2.

The transformation of Aspergillus oryzae BECh2 with pJLin172 yielded 49 transformants. The transformants were isolated to individual Cove plates. Confluent Cove plates of 35 transformants were washed with 4 ml of 0.01% Tween 20. Two hundred μl of spore suspension was inoculated separately into 25 ml of MY25 medium in 125 ml plastic shake flasks and incubated at 34° C., 250 rpm. Three and five days after incubation, culture supernatants were removed for lipase assay and SDS-PAGE analysis.

Lipase activity was determined as follows: 100 μl of substrate (3.92 ml of 100 mM MOPS pH 7.5, 4 mM CaCl₂, 990 μl of DMSO, 80 μl of 1% AOS, and 20 μl of p-nitrophenyl butyrate) was added to 100 μl of diluted sample. The samples were diluted accordingly in 100 mM MOPS pH 7.5, 4 mM CaCl₂. The absorbance at 405 nm was monitored for 3 minutes at room temperature (25° C.) in a 96-well microtiter plate using a Spectra MAX plate reader (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif.).

The lipase assay results indicated that at both 3 and 5 days, 34 of the 35 transformants produced lipase activity well above that of the untransformed control.

SDS-PAGE (BioRad Criterion 10-20% SDS-PAGE) analysis of 10 μl of the supernatants showed a major band at approximately 59 kDa.

Example 9 Determination of Substrate Specificity of Recombinant Aspergillus fumigatus Lipase

The substrate specificity of Aspergillus fumigatus lipase was determined using a panel screen composed of 4-nitrophenol (PNP) lipase substrates.

A panel screen composed of a set of 12 assays utilizing various 4-nitrophenol (PNP) lipase substrates was prepared as described in the Table 1.

TABLE 1 Panel screen of PNP substrates and buffer conditions 1 mM 50 50 PNP- mM mM 50 mM PNP tagged Shorthand MOPS CHES MOPS 10 mM Triton Conversion substrate designation pH 7.0 pH 9.5 pH 7.5 CaCl₂ X-100 Factors 1 Palmitate 16:0  x x 1.2%  4.466 2 Palmitate 16:0  x x 1.2%  1.1 3 Palmitate 16:0  x x 1.2%  2.037 4 Palmitate 16:0  x x 0.2%  1.0 5 Palmitate 16:0  x x 0.2%  1.495 6 Decanoate 10:0  x x 1.2%  4.466 7 Decanoate 10:0  x x 1.2%  1.1 8 Decanoate 10:0  x x 1.2%  2.037 9 Decanoate 10:0  x x 0.2%  1.0 10 Valerate 5:0 x x 0.40%  1.630 11 Valerate 5:0 x x  0% 1.370 12 Butyrate 4:0 x x 0.40%  1.630

These assays were run in 384-well plates using 8 different dilutions of each sample (7 μl) to be evaluated and 80 μl of the substrates. The assays were incubated for up to 24 hours at ambient temperature. Assays were read at 405 nm at time points of approximately 1, 2, 3, 5, and 24 hours. The results were calculated as OD/hour for each individual assay. In order to make an accurate evaluation of the amount of PNP released, it was necessary to mathematically normalize raw OD values by using a conversion factor. The conversion factors were values, determined experimentally, that were necessary to compensate for the fact that PNP has lower OD readings at low pH and in the presences of detergent (Triton X100) than at pH 9.5. The factor normalizes the data to the OD reading that would have been obtained were it possible to quench the reactions to yield maximal OD for each condition while also stopping the reaction at that time point; i.e., PNP-fatty acid substrates are not stable at high pH, the tag comes off without lipase present at high pH, and the tagged substrate is particularly unstable above pH 9 and for shorter chain length fatty acid substrates.

In Table 1 the top two rows (1 and 2) were the assays used for the pH ratio (9.5/7.0). Rows 3 and 10 were used for the “long chain (Slu)/short chain (Lu); comparisons.

In Table 1 the top two rows (1 and 2) were the assays used for the pH ratio (9.5/7.0). Rows 3 and 10 were used for the “long chain (Slu)/short chain (Lu); comparisons.

LIPEX™, a Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase obtained from Novozymes A/S, Bagsvrd, Denmark was used for comparison purposes.

The results for the panel screen are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Long chain/Short chain at pH 7.5 P/V D/V P/B D/B A. fumigatus 0.04  0.15  0.05  0.16  lipase LIPEX ™ 0.997 1.944 2.122 4.080 pH Ratios; (−) = 0.2% Triton data 9.5P/7.0P 9.5D/7.0D 9.5P−/7.5P− A. fumigatus 0.36  0.22  Not lipase Tested LIPEX ™ 2.072 2.574 2.251 No or Low Triton (−) compared to maximum Triton (+) V7.5 −/+ D9.5 +/− P7.5 +/− P9.5 +/− A. fumigatus Not Not Not Not lipase Tested Tested Tested Tested LIPEX ™ 7.108 5.110 9.331 8.166 The data for the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase was generated in 96-well plate format using approximately 3 times the sample and substrate volumes as described in Table 1. Aspergillus fumigatus lipase test data consists of the average of 2 assay results; and LIPEX ™ data consists of the average of a minimum of 80 assay results. Ratio of PNP-substrates according to Table 1, Example 9, where: P = Palmitate, D = Decanoate, V = Valerate and B = Butyrate

In comparing the panel screen results of LIPEX™ and the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase the following observations were made:

1. The ratio of activities on PNP-palmitate at pH 9.5 versus pH 7 is 6-fold lower for the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase versus LIPEX™ suggesting that the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase has lower activity at pH 9.5 versus LIPEX™ or it has a higher activity at pH 7.0 than LIPEX™ or a combination of these two.

2. The ratios of P/V, D/V, and D/B are also quite different for the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase versus LIPEX™ suggesting there is some acyl change length specificity differences between the two lipases.

Example 10 Purification and Characterization of Recombinant Aspergillus fumigatus Lipase

One of the Aspergillus oryzae transformants producing the highest yield of Aspergillus fumigatus lipase (Example 8) was grown in 500 ml of MY25 medium for 4 days at 30° C., 250 rpm for purification. Supernatant was sterile filtered under pressure using SEITZ-EKS filters (PALL Corporation, Waldstetten, Germany). The sterile filtered supernatant was diluted with distilled water so the conductivity was under 4 mSi abd then the pH was adjusted to 7.

Source Q™ (Pharmacia Amersham, Uppsala, Sweden) was packed into a 50 ml column and then washed and equilibrated with 50 mM borate pH 7 buffer. Filtered fermentation supernatant was then applied to the column using an Akta Explorer System (Pharmacia Amersham, Uppsala, Sweden). Unbound material was washed with 50 mM borate pH 9 buffer. The bound proteins were eluted with 50 mM borate pH 9 buffer containing 0.5 M sodium chloride as an eluent. The total length of the gradient was approximately 20 column volumes.

Fractions of 10 ml were collected and analyzed for lipase activity according to the assay described by Svendsen et al., in Methods in Enzymology, Lipases Part a Biotechnology Vol. 284 pages 317-340 Edited by Byron Rubin and Edward A. Dennis, Academic Press, 1997, New York. Aliquots of fractions were analyzed for purity by standard SDS-PAGE procedure using Novex 4-20% Tris-glycine gels (Invitrogen Life Technologies, Carlsbad Calif.). The most pure fractions were pooled on the basis of LU activity and purity assessed by SDS-PAGE. The purity of the pooled fractions by SDS-PAGE was determined to be more than 95% with a molecular of approximately 68 kDa.

Substrate specificity of the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase was evaluated at pH 7 according to WO 2005/040410. The results showed that the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase efficiently degrades trilinolein and cholesterol linoleate whereas activity toward phospholipids such as lecithin (and alkylated phosphatidylethanolamines) is much lower.

Example 11 Determination of Thermostability of Recombinant Aspergillus fumigatus Lipase

The thermostability of the purified recombinant Aspergillus fumigatus lipase (Example 10) was determined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The thermal denaturation temperature, Td, was taken as the top of the denaturation peak (major endothermic peak) in thermograms (Cp vs. T) obtained after heating of enzyme solutions at a constant programmed heating rate. Cp refers to heat capacity (at constant pressure). T refers to temperature.

A VP-DSC Differential Scanning Calorimeter (MicroCal Inc., Northampton, Mass.) was used for the thermostability determination according to the manufacturer's instructions. Sample enzyme and reference solutions were carefully degassed immediately prior to loading of samples into the calorimeter (reference: buffer without enzyme). Sample enzyme (approximately 1 mg/ml) and reference solutions (approximately 0.5 ml) were thermally pre-equillibrated for 20 minutes at 5° C. The DSC scan was performed from 5° C. to 95° C. at a scan rate of approximately 90 K/hr. Denaturation temperatures were determined at an accuracy of approx. +/−1° C.

The results as shown in Table 3 indicated that the Aspergillus fumigatus lipase had thermal denaturation temperatures of 60° C. in 50 mM acetate pH 5.0 buffer, 54° C. in 50 mM HEPES pH 7.0 buffer, and 44° C. in 50 mM glycine pH 10.0 buffer.

TABLE 3 Thermostability Determination Buffer pH Td (° C.) 50 mM Acetate  5.0 60 50 mM HEPES  7.0 54 50 mM Glycine 10.0 44

Example 12 Identification of Lipase Genes in the Partial Genomic Sequence of Fusarium graminearum

The assembly 1 protein sequences deduced from the Fusarium graminearum partial genome sequence (Broad Institute, MIT) were downloaded into a Microsoft Word document. A search was done for sequences containing the GESAG motif, which is the conserved sequence around the active site serine residue in Geotrichum candidum lipases (EMBL Accession Nos. U02622 and U02541) and homologs thereof. Several sequences were found to contain the GESAG motif and those with a suitable size and additional conserved residues close to the GESAG motif were aligned in full length with the Geotrichum candidum lipases and homologs. The hypothetical protein FG01603.01 with a length of 591 amino acids was found to be clearly the best match. However, when the corresponding DNA was translated, it was found that the C-terminal sequence was more likely to be GALVV rather than GALVDTNG as in FG01603.01.

Example 13 Fusarium graminearum Genomic DNA Extraction

Fusarium graminearum was grown in 100 ml of M400 medium in a baffled shake flask at 24° C. and 200 rpm. Mycelia were harvested by filtration, washed twice in TE, and frozen under liquid nitrogen. Frozen mycelia were ground, by mortar and pestle, to a fine powder, which was resuspended in pH 8.0 buffer containing 10 mM Tris, 100 mM EDTA, 1% Triton X-100, 0.5 M guanidine-HCl, and 200 mM NaCl. DNase free RNase A was added at a concentration of 20 mg/liter and the lysate was incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes. Cellular debris was removed by centrifugation, and DNA was isolated using a QIAGEN Maxi 500 column. The columns were equilibrated in 10 ml of QBT, washed with 30 ml of QC, and eluted with 15 ml of QF. DNA was precipitated in isopropanol, washed in 70% ethanol, and recovered by centrifugation. The DNA was resuspended in TE buffer.

Example 14 Cloning of a Fusarium graminearum Lipase Gene

Two synthetic oligonucleotide primers shown below were designed based on the predicted start and stop codons of the open reading frame to PCR amplify a Fusarium graminearum lipase gene from the genomic DNA prepared in Example 13.

Forward primer: (SEQ ID NO: 22) 5′-CACTGCTATCACCAACATGAGATTCTCTGG-3′ Reverse primer: (SEQ ID NO: 23) 5′-CCAACAAGGTATTTAATTAATCATACCACCAAAGC-3′ Bold letters represent coding sequence.

The fragment of interest was amplified by PCR using the Expand High Fidelity PCR System. One μM of each of the primers above were used in a PCR reaction containing 200 ng of pSMO232 (Example 6), 1×PCR buffer with 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 1 μl of dNTP mix (10 mM each), and 0.75 μl of DNA polymerase mix (3.5 U/μl) in a final volume of 50 μl. To amplify the fragment, an Eppendorf Mastercycler Thermocycler was programmed for 1 cycle at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 60° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 60° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes plus a 5 second elongation at each successive cycle; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes; and a 10° C. hold.

The reaction product was visualized on a 0.8% agarose gel using TBE buffer and a 1.8 kb product band was purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The PCR fragment and pCR2.1-TOPO vector were ligated using conditions specified by the manufacturer to produce pSMO230 (FIG. 7). Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli TOP10 One Shot competent cells according to the manufacturer's instructions. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 20 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 30 seconds at 42° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 250 μl volume of SOC medium was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Sixteen colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. An E. coli transformant containing a plasmid designated pSMO230 was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a BioRobot 9600.

E. coli TOP10 One Shot cells containing pSMO23O were deposited with the Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604, as NRRL B-30803, with a deposit date of Dec. 17, 2004.

Example 15 Characterization of the Fusarium graminearum Genomic Sequence Encoding Lipase

DNA sequencing of the Fusarium graminearum lipase gene from pSMO230 was performed with an Applied Biosystems Model 377 XL DNA Sequencer (Perkin-Elmer/Applied Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, Calif.) using dye-terminator chemistry (Giesecke et al., 1992, supra) and primer walking strategy. Nucleotide sequence data were scrutinized for quality and all sequences were compared to each other with assistance of PHRED/PHRAP software (University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.).

Gene models for the sequence were constructed based on the tfasty output and alignment with a homologous lipase gene from Geotrichum candidum (SWALL P17577). A comparative alignment of amino acid sequences was made using the MAFFT method with iterative refinement and default parameters (Katoh et al., 2002, supra). The nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 3) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 4) are shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The genomic fragment encodes a polypeptide of 588 amino acids. The % G+C content of the gene is 52.5% and the mature protein coding region (nucleotides 73 to 1764) is 52.4%. Using the SignalP software program (Nielsen et al., 1997, supra), a signal peptide of 24 residues was predicted. The predicted mature protein contains 564 amino acids with a molecular mass of 63 kDa.

A comparative alignment of lipase sequences was made employing the Clustal W method (Higgins, 1989, supra) using LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters were Ktuple=1, gap penalty=3, windows=5, and diagonals=5. The alignment showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the Fusarium graminearum lipase gene shared 23% identity to the deduced amino acid sequence of a Geotrichum candidum lipase gene (SWALL P17577).

Example 16 Construction of pEJG61

The Fusarium venenatum expression vector pEJG61 was generated by modification of pSheB1 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,604). The modifications included (a) changing the single Bsp LU11I site in pSheB1 by site-directed mutagenesis (b) replacement of 930 bp of the Fusarium oxysporum trypsin promoter with 2.1 kilobases of the Fusarium venenatum glucoamylase promoter, and (c) introduction of a Bsp LU11I site after the Fusarium venenatum glucoamylase promoter.

Removal of the Bsp LU11I site within the pSheB1 sequence was accomplished using the QuikChange™ Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene Cloning Systems, La Jolla, Calif.) according to the manufacturer's instruction with the following pairs of mutagenesis primers:

(SEQ ID NO: 24) 5′-GCAGGAAAGAACAAGTGAGCAAAAGGC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 25) 5′-GCCTTTTGCTCACTTGTTCTTTCCTGC-3′ This created pSheB1 intermediate 1.

Removal of 930 bp of the Fusarium oxysporum trypsin promoter was accomplished by digesting pSheB1 intermediate 1 (6,971 bp) with Stu I and Pac I, subjecting the digest to electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel, at 100 volts for one hour using TBE buffer, excising the 6,040 bp vector fragment, and purifying the excised fragment with a Qiaquick Gel Purification Kit (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.). To introduce a new Bsp LU11I site, a linker was created using

5′-dCCTACATGTTTAAT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 26)        Bsp Lu11I 5′-dTAAACATGTAGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 27)

Each primer (2 μg each) was heated to 70° C. for 10 minutes and then cooled to room temperature over an hour. This linker was ligated into the Stu I-Pac I digested pSheB1 intermediate 1 vector fragment, creating pSheBI intermediate 2.

A 2.1 kilobase fragment of Fusarium venenatum genomic DNA 5 prime of the glucoamylase coding region (glucoamylase promotor) was isolated by PCR of plasmid pFAMG (WO 00/56900) containing Fusarium venenatum genomic DNA encoding the entire coding region for Fusarium venenatum glucoamylase and 3,950 bp of upstream sequence. The

(SEQ ID NO: 28) 5′-AGGCCTCACCCATCTCAACAC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 29) 5′-ACATGTTGGTGATAGCAGTGA-3′

The PCR reaction (50 μl) was composed of 200 ng of pFAMG, 200 μM dNTPs, 1 μM of the above primers, 1× reaction buffer, and 2.6 units of Expand High Fidelity enzyme mix. The reactions were incubated using a MJ Research Thermocycler (MJ Research, Inc., Boston, Mass.) programmed for 1 cycle 1 at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 60° C. for 30 sec, and 72 C for 2 minutes and 15 seconds; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 60° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 2 minutes and 15 seconds with 5 seconds cycle elongation for each successive cycle; and 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes.

The PCR product was subjected to electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel at 100 volts for one hour using TBE buffer generating an expected band of 2,108 bp. The 2,108 bp PCR product was excised from the agarose gel and purified with a Qiaquick Gel Purification Kit. This fragment was digested with Stu I and Bsp LU11I, purified with a Qiaquick Purification Kit (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.), and ligated into Stu I-Bsp LU11I digested pSheBI intermediate 2 creating pEJG61 (FIG. 9).

Example 17 Construction of a Fusarium venenatum Expression Vector Expressing Fusarium graminearum Lipase Gene

The two synthetic oligonucleotide primers described in Example 14 were designed to PCR amplify the Fusarium graminearum lipase gene from the genomic DNA prepared in Example 13.

The fragment of interest was amplified by PCR using the Herculase™ Hotstart PCR System (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). One μM of each of the primers above were used in a PCR reaction containing 20 ng of Fusarium graminerum genomic DNA, 1×PCR buffer (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.), 1 μl of dNTP mix (10 mM each), and 1.0 μl of DNA polymerase mix (5 U/μl; Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) in a final volume of 50 μl. To amplify the fragment, an Eppendorf Mastercycler thermocycler was programmed for 1 cycle at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 60° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 60° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes plus a 5 second elongation at each successive cycle; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes; and a 10° C. hold.

The reaction product was visualized on a 0.8% agarose gel using TBE buffer and the 1.8 kb product band was purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The 1.8 kb PCR fragment containing the Fusarium graminearum lipase gene was cloned into pEJG61 using an InFusion Cloning Kit where the vector was digested with Bsp LU11I and Pac I. The digested vector was purified by gel electrophoresis using a 0.7% agarose gel with TBE buffer, and the PCR fragment was extracted using a QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit and purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit. The gene fragment and the digested vector were ligated together in a reaction resulting in the expression plasmid pSMO232 (FIG. 10). The ligation reaction (50 μl) was composed of 1× InFusion Buffer, 1×BSA, 1 μl of Infusion enzyme (diluted 1:10), 100 ng of pEJG61 digested with Bsp LU11I and Pac I, and 50 ng of the Fusarium graminearum lipase gene purified PCR product. The reaction was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes. Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli SoloPack Gold supercompetent cells according to the manufacturer's instructions. One μl of 3-mercaptoethanol was added to the competent cells, and incubated on ice for 10 minutes. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was then added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 30 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 60 seconds at 54° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 150 μl volume of NZY⁺ medium at 42° C. was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Nine colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. An E. coli transformant containing pSMO232 was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a QIAGEN BioRobot 9600.

Example 18 Expression of the Fusarium graminearum Lipase Gene in Fusarium venenatum WTY842-1-11

Spores of Fusarium venenatum strain WTY842-1-11 (Δtrichodiene synthase gene, amdS⁺) a mutant of Fusarium strain A3/5 (NRRL 30747 or ATCC 20334) (Wiebe et al., 1992, Mycological Research 96: 555-562; Wiebe et al., 1991, Mycological Research 95: 1284-1288; Wiebe et al., 1991, Mycological Research 96: 555-562), were generated by inoculating a flask containing 100 ml of RA sporulation medium with 8 plugs from an agar plate and incubated at 27° C., 150 rpm for 24 hours, then 24 hours, 150 rpm at 22° C. Spores were harvested by filtering culture through MIRACLOTH™ (Calbiochem, La Jolla, Calif.) onto a Nalgene 0.2 μm filter. Wash spores twice with sterile distilled water, resuspended in a small volume of water, and then counted using a hemocytometer.

Protoplasts were prepared by inoculating 100 ml of YPG medium with 2×10⁸ spores of Fusarium venenatum WTY842-1-11 and incubating for 15 hours at 18° C. and 150 rpm. The culture was filtered through MIRACLOTH™, washed once with sterile distilled water and once with 1 M MgSO₄ and resuspended in 40 ml of 5 mg/ml of NOVOZYME 234™ (Novozymes A/S, Bagsærd, Denmark) in 1 M MgSO₄. Cultures were incubated at 29° C. and 90 rpm until protoplasts formed. A volume of 30 ml of 1 M sorbitol was added to the protoplast digest and the mixture was centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 10 minutes. The pellet was resuspended, washed twice with 1 M sorbitol, and centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 10 minutes to pellet the protoplasts. Protoplasts were counted with a hemocytometer and resuspended in an 8:2:0.1 solution of STC:SPTC:DMSO to a final concentration of 5×10⁷ protoplasts/ml. The protoplasts were stored at −80° C., after controlled-rate freezing in a Nalgene Cryo 1° C. Freezing Container.

Two ml of protoplast suspension were added to 20 μg of pSMO232 and 250 μg of heparin in a 50 ml Falcon tube, mixed and incubated on ice for 30 minutes. Two hundred μl of SPTC was mixed gently into the protoplast suspension and incubation was continued at room temperature for 10 minutes. Twenty ml of SPTC was mixed gently into the protoplast suspension and incubation was continued at room temperature for 10 minutes. A 350 ml volume of molten Vogel's NO₃ regeneration low-melt medium (cooled to 50° C.) was mixed with the protoplasts and then 35 ml were plated onto 100 mm Petri plate containing 35 ml of the identical medium plus 12 mg of BASTA™ per ml. Incubation was continued at room temperature for 6 days. After 6 days, 29 transformants were apparent. A mycelial fragment from the edge of each transformant was transferred to plates containing Vogel's NO₃ regeneration low-melt medium plus BASTA™ (6 mg/ml) medium. The plate was sealed in a plastic bag to maintain moisture and incubated approximately one week at room temperature.

One cm² of spore growth was inoculated separately into 25 ml of MY400 medium in 125 ml plastic shake flasks and incubated at 28° C., 250 rpm. Three and five days after incubation, culture supernatants were removed for lipase assay and SDS-PAGE analysis.

Lipase activity was determined as described in Example 12. The lipase assay results indicated that at 3 days several of the transformants produced lipase activity above that of the untransformed control. SDS-PAGE analysis (BioRad Criterion 10-20% SDS-PAGE) of 10 μl of the supernatants showed a band at approximately 61 kDa.

Example 19 Determination of Substrate Specificity of Recombinant Fusarium graminearum Lipase

The substrate specificity of the Fusarium graminearum lipase was determined using a panel screen composed of 4-nitrophenol (PNP) lipase substrates as described in Example 9.

The results for the panel screen are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Long chain/Short chain at pH 7.5 P/V D/V P/B D/B F. graminearum 0.769 0.772 0.398 0.399 lipase LIPEX ™ 0.997 1.944 2.122 4.080 pH Ratios; (−) = 0.2% Triton data 9.5P/7.0P 9.5D/7.0D 9.5P−/7.5P− F. graminearum 0.138 0.393 Not lipase Tested LIPEX +198 2.072 2.574 2.251 No or Low Triton (−) compared to maximum Triton (+) V7.5 −/+ D9.5 +/− P7.5 +/− P9.5 +/− F. graminearum Not Not Not Not lipase Tested Tested Tested Tested LIPEX ™ 7.108 5.110 9.331 8.166 Fusarium graminearum lipase (Fusarium venenatum WTY-842-1-11 expressing Fusarium graminearum lipase 1) test data consists of the average of 2 assay results; and LIPEX ™ data consists of the average a minimum of 80 assay results. Ratio of PNP-substrates according to Table 1, Example 9, where: P = Palmitate, D = Decanoate, V = Valerate and B = Butyrate

In comparing the panel screen results of LIPEX™ and the Fusarium graminearum lipase the following observations were made:

1. The ratio of activities on PNP-palmitate at pH 9.5 versus pH 7 is 16-fold lower for the Fusarium graminearum lipase versus LIPEX™ suggesting that the Fusarium graminearum lipase has much lower activity at pH 9.5 versus LIPEX™ or it has a much higher activity at pH 7.0 than LIPEX™ or a combination of these two.

2. The ratios of PN, DN, and D/B are also quite different for the Fusarium graminearum lipase versus LIPEX™ suggesting there is some acyl change length specificity differences between the two lipases.

Example 20 Identification of Lipase Genes in the Partial Genomic Sequence of Magnaporthe grisea

A tfasty search (Pearson, W. R., 1999, supra) of the Magnaporthe grisea partial genome sequence (The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Md.) was carried out using as query a lipase sequence from Geotrichum candidum (SWALL P17573). Several genes were identified as putative lipases based upon a high degree of similarity to the query sequence at the amino acid level. Two genomic regions of approximately 1400 bp and 110 bp with greater than 33% identity to the query sequence at the amino acid level were chosen for further study. Gene models for the putative lipase genes were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichum candidum lipase as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns.

Example 21 Magnaporthe grisea Genomic DNA Extraction

Four hundred μl of Magnaporthe grisea (FGSC 8958, Fungal Genetics Stock Center) spores were grown in 50 ml of CM medium in a baffled shake flask at 25° C. and 250 rpm for 4 days. Genomic DNA was then extracted from the mycelia using a DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (QIAGEN Inc., Valencia, Calif.) according to manufacturer's instructions.

Example 22 Cloning of the Magnaporthe grisea Lipase 1 Gene

Two synthetic oligonucleotide primers shown below were designed based on the predicted start and stop codons of the open reading frame to PCR amplify a Magnaporthe grisea gene encoding a lipase 1 from the genomic DNA prepared in Example 21.

Forward primer: (SEQ ID NO: 30) 5′-ACACAACTGGCCATGAAAGCCTCCATTCTTTCGGCT-3′ Reverse primer: (SEQ ID NO: 31) 5′-AGTCACCTCTAGTTAATTAATTAAATGTAAAAGCTGAGGA-3′ Bold letters represent coding sequence. The remaining sequence is homologous to the insertion sites of pBM120a (see Example 6).

The fragment of interest was amplified by PCR using the Expand High Fidelity PCR System. One μM of each of the primers above were used in a PCR reaction containing 300 ng of Magnaporthe grisea genomic DNA, 1×PCR buffer with 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 1 μl of dNTP mix (10 mM each), and 0.75 μl of DNA polymerase mix (3.5 U/μl) in a final volume of 50 μl. To amplify the fragment, an Eppendorf Mastercycler thermocycler was programmed for 1 cycle at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 59.2° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 59.2° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 1.25 minutes plus a 5 second elongation at each successive cycle; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes; and a 10° C. hold.

The reaction product was visualized on a 0.7% agarose gel using TBE buffer and the 2 kb product band was purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions. The PCR fragment and pCR2.1-TOPO were ligated using conditions specified by the manufacturer resulting in plasmid pJLin175 (FIG. 11).

Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli TOP10 One Shot competent cells according to the manufacturer's instructions. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 5 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 30 seconds at 42° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 250 μl volume of SOC medium was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Twelve colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. An E. coli transformant containing the pJLin175 was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a BioRobot 9600.

E. coli TOP 10 One Shot cells containing pJLin175 were deposited with the Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604, as NRRL B-30783, with a deposit date of Oct. 12, 2004.

Example 23 Characterization of the Magnaporthe grisea Genomic Sequence Encoding Lipase 1

DNA sequencing of the Magnaporthe grisea lipase 1 gene from pJLin175 was performed with an Applied Biosystems Model 377 XL DNA Sequencer (Perkin-Elmer/Applied Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, Calif.) using dye-terminator chemistry (Giesecke et al., 1992, supra) and primer walking strategy. Nucleotide sequence data were scrutinized for quality and all sequences were compared to each other with assistance of PHRED/PHRAP software (University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.).

Gene models for the lipase gene were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichum candidum lipase as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns. A comparative alignment of amino acid sequences was made using the MAFFT method with iterative refinement and default parameters (Katoh et al., 2002, supra). The nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 5) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 6) are shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. The genomic fragment encodes a polypeptide of 598 amino acids. The % G+C content of the gene is 55.5% and of the mature protein coding region (nucleotides 61 to 1922 of SEQ ID NO: 5) is 55.5%. Using the SignalP software program (Nielsen et al., 1997, supra), a signal peptide of 20 residues was predicted. The predicted mature protein contains 578 amino acids with a molecular mass of 64.3 kDa.

A comparative alignment of lipase sequences was made employing the Clustal W method (Higgins, 1989, supra) using the LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters were Ktuple=1, gap penalty=3, windows=5, and diagonals=5. The alignment showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the Magnaporthe grisea lipase 1 gene shared 33% identity to the deduced amino acid sequence of a Geotrichum candidum lipase gene (SWALL P17573).

Example 24 Cloning of a Magnaporthe grisea Lipase 2 Gene

Several synthetic oligonucleotide primers shown below were designed based on the predicted sequence to PCR amplify another Magnaporthe grisea gene encoding a lipase 2 from the genomic DNA.

Forward primers: (SEQ ID NO: 32) 5′-ATTTTCCCGGCTCGACGCTTCTGT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 33) 5′-TCATGATGCGTCAATCCATCTTCCAGT′-3 (SEQ ID NO: 34) 5′-GGACGAGTTCGTCGCCATGGTGCAGC′-3 Reverse primers: (SEQ ID NO: 35) 5′-GCTGCACCATGGCGACGAACTCGTCC′-3 (SEQ ID NO: 36) 5′-TTTAATTAATTAGTACCCGCAAATCCATAACAACAAC-3′ Bold letters represent coding sequence. The remaining sequence was homologous to the enzyme restriction insertion sites of pBM120a.

The fragments of interest were amplified by PCR using the Herculase™ Hotstart DNA polymerase system. The First Fragment (Fragment 1) was generated using 50 ng of primer SEQ ID NO: 32 and 50 ng of primer SEQ ID NO: 36 in a PCR reaction (50 μl) containing 300 ng of Magnaporthe grisea genomic DNA, 1× Herculase PCR buffer (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) with, 1 μl of dNTP mix (10 mM each), 2 μl DMSO, and 2.5 units of Herculase™ Hotstart DNA polymerase (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). Fragment 2 was amplified using 5 μl of Fragment 1 (PCR reaction) as template with 50 ng of primer SEQ ID NO: 32 and 50 ng of primer SEQ ID NO: 35. Fragment 3 was amplified using 5 μl of Fragment 1 (PCR reaction) as template with 50 ng each primers SEQ ID NO: 34 and SEQ ID NO: 36. The Peltien thermal cycler (MJ Research Inc., Watertown, Mass.) was programmed for 1 cycle at 92° C. for 2 minutes; 30 cycles each at 92° C. for 1 minute, 51° C. for 1 minute, 72° C. for 1 minute; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 10 minutes; and a 4° C. hold.

The reaction products were visualized on a 1% agarose gel using TAE buffer and the product bands were purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions. The PCR Fragment 1 and pCR2.1-TOPO were ligated using conditions specified by the manufacturer resulting in plasmid pCrAm140 (FIG. 13)

Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli TOP10 One Shot competent cells according to the manufacturer's instructions. A 2 μl volume of the ligation mixture was added to the E. coli cells and incubated on ice for 5 minutes. Subsequently, the cells were heat shocked for 30 seconds at 42° C., and then placed on ice for 2 minutes. A 250 μl volume of SOC medium was added to the cells and the mixture was incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. and 250 rpm. After the incubation the colonies were spread on 2×YT plates supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml and incubated at 37° C. overnight for selection of the plasmid. Twenty colonies that grew on the plates were picked with a sterile toothpick and grown overnight at 37° C., 250 rpm in a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 3 ml of LB medium supplemented with 100 μg of ampicillin per ml. An E. coli transformant containing the pCrAm140 was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a BioRobot 9600.

E. coli TOP 10 One Shot cells containing pCrAm140 were deposited with the Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604, as NRRL B-30788 on Dec. 1, 2004.

Example 25 Characterization of the Magnaporthe grisea Genomic Sequence ENCODING Lipase 2

DNA sequencing of the Magnaporthe grisea lipase 2 gene from pCrAm140 was performed with an Applied Biosystems Model 377 XL DNA Sequencer using dye-terminator chemistry (Giesecke et al., 1992, supra) and primer walking strategy. Nucleotide sequence data were scrutinized for quality and all sequences were compared to each other with assistance of PHRED/PHRAP software (University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.).

Gene models for the lipase gene were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichum candidum lipase as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns. A comparative alignment of amino acid sequences was made using the MAFFT method with iterative refinement and default parameters (Katoh et al., 2002, supra). The nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 7) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 8) are shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B. The genomic fragment encodes a polypeptide of 534 amino acids. The % G+C content of the gene is 66.1% and of the mature protein coding region (nucleotides 55 to 1602 of SEQ ID NO: 7) is 66.1%. Using the SignalP software program (Nielsen et al., 1997, supra, a signal peptide of 18 residues was predicted. The predicted mature protein contains 516 amino acids with a molecular mass of 55.5 kDa.

A comparative alignment of lipase sequences was made employing the Clustal W method (Higgins, 1989, supra) using the LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters were Ktuple=1, gap penalty=3, windows=5, and diagonals=5. The alignment showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the Magnaporthe grisea lipase 2 gene shared 33% identity to the deduced amino acid sequence of a Geotrichum candidum lipase gene (SWALL P17573).

Example 26 Identification of Lipase Genes in the Partial Genomic Sequence of Neurospora crassa

A tfasty search (Pearson, W. R., 1999, supra) of the Neurospora crassa partial genome sequence (Broad Institute, MIT) was carried out using as query a lipase sequence from Geotrichum candidum (SWALL P17577). A gene was identified as putative lipases based upon a high degree of similarity to the query sequence at the amino acid level. One genomic region of approximately 1200 bp with greater than 38% identity to the query sequence at the amino acid level was chosen for further study. Gene models for the putative lipase genes were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichim candidum lipase 1 gene as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns.

Example 27 Neurospora crassa Genomic DNA Extraction

Four hundred μl of Neurospora crassa (FGSC 2489, Fungal Genetics Stock Center) spores were grown in 50 ml of CM medium in a baffled shake flask at 25° C. and 250 rpm for 4 days. Genomic DNA was then extracted from the mycelia using the following method. YEG medium (100 ml) supplemented with 1% additional glucose was inoculated from a plate of PDA plate and incubated for 2 days at 34° C. Mycelia were collected by filtration on a Whatmann #1 filter, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and ground to a powder in a mortar and pestle on dry ice. One-fourth of this material was incubated for 60 minutes at 60° C. with 20 ml of TE containing 20 mM CAPS-NaOH pH 11.0 buffer and 1% lithium dodecyl sulfate. This was extracted with an equal volume of phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1) on a rotating wheel for 60 minutes at 37° C., centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 5 minutes, and the aqueous phase re-extracted in the same fashion. The aqueous phase was brought to 2.5 M ammonium acetate and frozen. It was thawed, the nucleic acids precipitated with 0.7 vol isopropanol, and the precipitate collected by centrifugation at 15,000×g for 20 minutes. The pellet was rinsed twice with 70% ethanol, air dried, and dissolved in 1.0 ml of 0.1×TE. RNase was added to 100 μg per ml and the tube incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature. The solution was brought to 2 M ammonium acetate and DNA precipitated by addition of 2 volumes of ethanol and collected by centrifugation at 13,000×g for 20 minutes at room temperature. The pellet was rinsed twice with 70% ethanol, air-dried, and dissolved in 0.75 ml of 0.1×TE.

Example 28 Cloning of a Neurospora crassa Lipase Gene

Two synthetic oligonucleotide primers shown below were designed based on the predicted start and stop codons of the open reading frame to PCR amplify a Neurospora crassa lipase gene from the genomic DNA prepared in Example 27.

Forward primer: (SEQ ID NO: 37) 5′-ACACAACTGGCCATGAAGGGCTTTTCCAACGCTCTCCTCG-3′ Reverse primer: (SEQ ID NO: 38) 5′-AGTCACCTCTAGTTAATTAATTAGATGTGAAGAGCATCAAGAT TAG-3′ Bold letters represent coding sequence. The remaining sequence is homologous to the insertion sites of pBM120a.

The fragment of interest was amplified by PCR using the Expand High Fidelity PCR System (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). Fifty picomoles of each of the primers above were used in a PCR reaction containing 550 ng of Neurospora Crassa genomic DNA. The PCR amplification reaction mixture also contained 1×PCR buffer with 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 1 μl of dNTP mix (10 mM each), and 0.75 μl DNA polymerase mix (3.5 U/μl) in a final volume of 50 μl. An Eppendorf Mastercycler thermocycler was used to amplify the fragment programmed for 1 cycle at 94° C. for 2 minutes; 10 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 62° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 2 minutes; 15 cycles each at 94° C. for 15 seconds, 62° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 2 minutes plus a 5 second elongation at each successive cycle; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 7 minutes; and a 10° C. hold.

The reaction product was visualized on a 1.0% agarose gel using TBE buffer and the 1.8 kb product band was purified using a QIAquick PCR Purification Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The 1.8 kb PCR product was then cloned into pCR2.1-TOPO (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) according to manufacturer's instructions to produce pBM134b (FIG. 15). Two μl of the reaction was used to transform E. coli TOP10 One Shot competent cells. An E. coli transformant containing pBM134b was detected by restriction digestion and plasmid DNA was prepared using a QIAGEN BioRobot 9600.

E. coli TOP 10 One Shot cells containing pBM134b were deposited with the Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604, as NRRL B-30786, with a deposit date of Nov. 17, 2004.

Example 29 Characterization of the Neurospora crassa Genomic Sequence Encoding Lipase

DNA sequencing of the Neurospora crassa lipase gene from pBM134b was performed with a Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems Model 377 XL Automated DNA Sequencer (Perkin-Elmer/Applied Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, Calif.) using dye-terminator chemistry (Giesecke et al., 1992, Journal of Virology Methods 38: 47-60) and primer walking strategy. Nucleotide sequence data were scrutinized for quality and all sequences were analyzed with assistance of ContigExpress software (Informax, Inc., Bethesda, Md.).

Gene models for the lipase gene were predicted based on homology to the Geotrichum candidum lipase 1 as well as conserved sequences present at the 5′ and 3′ ends of fungal introns. A comparative alignment of amino acid sequences was made using the MAFFT method with iterative refinement and default parameters (Katoh et al., 2002, Nucleic Acids Research 30: 3059). The genomic coding sequence (SEQ ID NO: 9) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 10) are shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B. The genomic fragment encodes a polypeptide of 578 amino acids, interrupted by 1 intron of 55 bp. The % G+C content of the gene is 56.19% and of the mature protein coding region (nucleotides 64 to 1789 of SEQ ID NO: 9) is 56.88%. Using the SignalP software program (Nielsen et al., 1997, Protein Engineering 10:1-6), a signal peptide of 21 residues was predicted. The predicted mature protein contains 557 amino acids with a molecular mass of 59.97 kDa.

A comparative alignment of lipase sequences was determined using the Clustal W method (Higgins, 1989, supra) using the LASERGENE™ MEGALIGN™ software (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, Wis.) with an identity table and the following multiple alignment parameters: Gap penalty of 10 and gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters were Ktuple=1, gap penalty=3, windows=5, and diagonals=5. The alignment showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the Neurospora crassa lipase gene shared 31% identity to the deduced amino acid sequences of the Geotrichum candidum lipase 1 gene (SWALL P17577).

Deposit of Biological Material

The following biological materials have been deposited under the terms of the Budapest Treaty with the Agricultural Research Service Patent Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Center, 1815 University Street, Peoria, Ill., 61604, and given the following accession number:

Deposit Accession Number Date of Deposit E. coli pJLin173 NRRL B-30782 Oct. 12, 2004 E. coli pSMO230 NRRL B-30803 Dec. 17, 2004 E. coli pJLin175 NRRL B-30783 Sep. 13, 2004 E. coli pCrAm140 NRRL B-30788 Dec. 1, 2004 E. coli pBM134b NRRL B-30786 Nov. 17, 2004

The strains have been deposited under conditions that assure that access to the cultures will be available during the pendency of this patent application to one determined by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to be entitled thereto under 37 C.F.R. §1.14 and 35 U.S.C. §122. The deposits represent substantially pure cultures of the deposited strains. The deposits are available as required by foreign patent laws in countries wherein counterparts of the subject application, or its progeny are filed. However, it should be understood that the availability of a deposit does not constitute a license to practice the subject invention in derogation of patent rights granted by governmental action.

The invention described and claimed herein is not to be limited in scope by the specific aspects herein disclosed, since these aspects are intended as illustrations of several aspects of the invention. Any equivalent aspects are intended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. In the case of conflict, the present disclosure including definitions will control.

Various references are cited herein, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties. 

1. An isolated polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having lipase activity, selected from the group consisting of: (a) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having lipase activity comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% identity with the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4; (b) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having lipase activity comprising a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under at least high stringency conditions with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or its full-length complementary strand, wherein high stringency conditions are defined as prehybridization and hybridization at 42° C. in 5×SSPE, 0.3% SDS, 200 μg/ml sheared and denatured salmon sperm DNA, and 50% formamide and a wash three times, each for 15 minutes using 2×SSC, 0.2% SDS at 65° C.; and (c) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having lipase activity comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 90% identity with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 2. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% identity with the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:
 4. 3. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 2, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity with the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:
 4. 4. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 3, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 97% identity with the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:
 4. 5. The polynucleotide of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises or consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or the mature polypeptide thereof.
 6. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1, which comprises a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under at least high stringency conditions with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or its full-length complementary strand, wherein high stringency conditions are defined as prehybridization and hybridization at 42° C. in 5×SSPE, 0.3% SDS, 200 μg/ml sheared and denatured salmon sperm DNA, and 50% formamide and a wash three times, each for 15 minutes using 2×SSC, 0.2% SDS at 65° C.
 7. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 6, which comprises a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under at least very high stringency conditions with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or its full-length complementary strand, wherein very high stringency conditions are defined as prehybridization and hybridization at 42° C. in 5×SSPE, 0.3% SDS, 200 μg/ml sheared and denatured salmon sperm DNA, and 50% formamide and a wash three times, each for 15 minutes using 2×SSC, 0.2% SDS at 70° C.
 8. The polynucleotide of claim 1, which comprises a nucleotide sequence having at least 90% identity with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 9. The polynucleotide of claim 8, which comprises a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% identity with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 10. The polynucleotide of claim 9, which comprises a nucleotide sequence having at least 97% identity with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 11. The polynucleotide of claim 1, which comprises or consists of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or the mature polypeptide coding sequence thereof.
 12. The polynucleotide of claim 1, which is encoded by the polynucleotide contained in plasmid pSMO230 which is contained in E. coli NRRL B-30803.
 13. The polynucleotide of claim 1, wherein the mature polypeptide is amino acids 25 to 588 of SEQ ID NO:
 4. 14. The polynucleotide of claim 1, wherein the mature polypeptide coding sequence is nucleotides 73 to 1764 of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 15. A nucleic acid construct or expression vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim 1 operably linked to one or more control sequences that direct the production of the polypeptide in an expression host.
 16. A recombinant host cell comprising the polynucleotide of claim 1 operably linked to one or more control sequences that direct the production of the polypeptide.
 17. A method for producing a polypeptide having lipase activity, comprising: (a) cultivating the host cell of claim 16 under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide.
 18. A method for producing a polypeptide having lipase activity, comprising: (a) cultivating a transgenic plant or a plant cell comprising the polynucleotide of claim 1 under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide. 